PJO and HoO Read the Lightning Thief
by Erudite19
Summary: The characters of PJO and HoO are sent back in time to the winter after Thalia was turned into a tree to read about the future with the gods. Characters are sent back in time after the Son of Neptune. I don't own PJO or HoO. Rick Riordan does.
1. Angry Demigods

The day after the Winter Solstice the gods of Olympus went back to do their realms or to do their jobs. The throne room was quiet and empty because Zeus was attending a meeting somewhere when all of a sudden there was a flash of light and eleven kids fell out.

Suddenly the alarm for the throne room rang and Zeus, Poseidon, Artemis, Athena, Dionysus, Ares, Hermes, Apollo, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, and Demeter flashed into the room since they were the gods closest to Olympus and because they had heard the alarm. Suddenly a throne popped up next to Poseidon's. The same one Hades used at the Winter Solstice and Hades flashed there.

"Hades, what are you doing here?" Zeus asked.

"I… don't know." He answered. He had confusion written all over his face but when he saw the group he along with all of the other gods drew his weapon.

The gods peered at the eleven figures at the ground brandishing their swords and spears. Suddenly one of the figures sat up and moaned clutching her head. The other ten got up too. Seeing that the figures lying on the ground were people Zeus ordered everyone to put their weapons down and sit.

One of the people- a girl with choppy brown hair who was very beautiful and had eyes that changed colors- noticed the gods first and said, "Hey g-guys." When everyone turned most of them had annoyed and confused expression. Some even looked mad.

It was silent as both groups regarded each other and then all at once all Hades broke through. The group at the ground started yelling at the gods and chewing them out.

"What do you want with us now?"

"Can't you just leave us alone?"

"Do you know how hard it is going to be to get along with the Romans?"

"First you completely abandon us and then take Percy away?"

"Some parents you are!"

"It's already hard enough finishing building the ship without your help and now you interrupt us?"

The gods were speechless at this outburst and were too shocked to reply. This went on for about thirty seconds before a girl obviously in her teens with honey blond her and piercing grey eyes decided to do something seeing as Zeus wasn't about to do anything.

"Enough!" All at once all the people stopped talking and yelling. It was obvious to the gods that this was the leader of the group. "I'm sure our parents have a reason for calling us here so before we manage to get ourselves incinerated or chew them out let's let them talk."

Hades who wasn't as stunned as before said, "I'm sorry did you say parents?"

The blond girl said, "Yes."

Then Zeus said, "Who are you people and what are you doing here?"

If the group wasn't confused before they were now. One of the boys who were black skinny jeans, a black t-shirt, and a black aviator jacket turned to the blond and said, "Annabeth what's going on?"

At this Aphrodite sat up and acknowledged the group as Athena was still stunned at the outburst. "Did you just say Annabeth as in Athena's daughter?"

Annabeth looked up still confused and said, "Yes?"

The gods gasped because Annabeth was seven the last time they saw her and that was yesterday. Now she looked like she was in her teens. Annabeth raised an eyebrow.

A girl in a hunters outfit with black choppy hair stepped forward. "No offense but what's going on here? Why did you summon us?"

Zeus looked on in disbelief, "Thalia?"

"Yes?"

Again all of the gods gasped. Annabeth who was finally catching up asked, "What year is it?"

When Poseidon said the year the group in the center of the throne room gasped. Annabeth took a breath and acknowledged the gods. "We're from ten years in the future."

For the third time that day the gods gasped. It was not hard to believe that they were all from the future. Athena spoke up, "If you're all from the future what are you doing in the past?"

The boy who had spoken up earlier said, "We don't know."

Suddenly a golden flash filled the room and when it subsided there was a letter floating in mid air. Annabeth walked towards it to pick it up. As she walked Aphrodite saw how matured she looked, how graceful and beautiful she was. In fact, she was stunning. _I must have blessed her._ Annabeth took the letter and found that it was written in ancient Greek. She read it out loud,

_Dear gods and goddesses of the past and angry demigods of the future I have sent these demigods that are from the future into the past so that you-the gods and goddesses of the past- can know what's going to happen in the future. The demigods with you have every right to be angry with you but should avoid telling you what's going on in the future since you are going to read about it anyway. You will be reading eight books about the future though more may be added if I choose. The demigods will not be able to leave unless they finish reading the books. It is excruciatingly important that they get back to their own time. They must stay on Olympus and be hidden from other gods or goddesses other than the ones currently in the room as they read these books. The books you will read will come one at a time and will disappear each time you finish reading one. _

_Signed,_

_Erudite19. _

As soon as Annabeth finished reading the note disappeared and a book appeared in her hand.

"Should we read it?" Thalia asked. A buff girl with brown hair and brown eyes came forward and said, "Well I don't know about you guys but we need to get back to our time period." The other people their nodded.

"I agree with Clarisse," Thalia said.

"Then it's settled," Zeus said. "But first can you introduce yourselves?"

The demigods shrugged. The boy who had spoken before stepped up and said, "We'll introduce ourselves and we'll tell you who our parents are but don't assume anything. My name is Nico di Angelo, son of Hades and the ghost king." The gods gasped. Nico turned to Hades and bowed. "Father."

Hades was speechless shouldn't his boy be in the Lotus Hotel and Casino with Bianca?

Thalia stepped up, "My name is Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus and Lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis."

The gods gasped.

Again.

Thalia bowed to Zeus and then to Artemis. "Could you guys stop gasping? You'll get hiccups and it's getting annoying."

"B-but what happened to Zoë?" Artemis asked.

"You'll probably find out soon." Thalia replied although a little bit sad. Artemis however grew increasingly worried about her lieutenant.

"B-but you're supposed to be a tree." Hermes stuttered.

"It's a long story." Thalia said. Annabeth, who had gone back to standing with the group stepped forward and said, "I'm Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena." When she stepped back however thunder rumbled outside and wouldn't stop.

Another note popped up and Thalia read it. Then it disappeared. Thalia looked up at Annabeth and said, "It said you have to give your full introduction." A few of the gods raised their eyebrows at this.

Annabeth sighed but then said, "I'm Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena and architect of Olympus." Athena who looked impressed spoke up, "Architect?" Annabeth nodded her head. Apollo said, "Why would Olympus need and architect what happened to it? Did it get trashed?"

Before Annabeth could reply the girl Thalia had called Clarisse stepped up and said, "I'm Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares and the drakon slayer." Ares sat up and said, "No way! The drakon?" Clarisse nodded and Ares said, "That's my girl!"

Next a Hispanic guy with a mischievous smile stepped up and said, "My name is Chris Rodriguez, Son of Hermes." Then two boys with brown, curly hair and mischievous smiles said simultaneously, "Connor and Travis Stoll, Sons of Hermes and senior counselors." All three smiled at Hermes who smiled back at them.

Another girl stepped up and said, "I'm Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter." Demeter smiled at Katie. But then Connor coughed and said, "Travis's girlfriend." Travis elbowed him in the gut. "Dude stop that." Then he addressed the gods. "She's not my girlfriend."

"No," Connor said, "But you two are madly in love with each other." The group on the floor burst out laughing.

Travis and Katie turned to Connor and glared at him. Demeter looked carefully at Travis and Hermes high fived Connor.

A girl with frizzy red hair stepped up next and said, "I'm Rachel Dare, the Oracle of Delphi." At this Apollo looked up excited. "My Oracle finally changed bodies! I don't know why she won't now though." Hades sunk in his seat though no one noticed and Hermes grimaced at the reminder of what had happened to May.

Another boy stepped forward next, "My name is Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus." Hephaestus perked up at this but Leo made sure not to tell anyone else he was a fire user. At least not yet. The beautiful girl who had choppy hair from before and had spoken up earlier said, "My name is Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite." She looked at her mom who smiled warmly at her. _Piper has matured a lot. She is as stunning as Annabeth._ Aphrodite thought.

Then the last person stepped forward and Zeus' eyes bugged out when he saw who it was, "My name is Jason Grace, Son of Jupiter and Praetor of the First Legion." All the gods' jaws dropped to the floor then their bodies started shifting from their Greek form to their roman form, then back.

"What is a roman doing with a bunch of Greeks?" Ares demanded though a little bit scared because at the moment Thalia was giving all the gods the evil eye.

"Well the future is pretty messed up." Nico replied. "I'm sure you'll see what I mean when we read these books."

The gods settled down into their Greek forms. They all looked at Annabeth to start reading but she was staring at the book in disbelief. Thalia looked over Annabeth's shoulder and her eyes bugged out too. She took the book from Annabeth who she was sure might burst out crying at any moment if she held that book for another second.

"It's called Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief." Thalia said. "It's in Percy's point of view." Nobody noticed Poseidon pale.

"Percy has a book about him?" Nico asked. When Thalia nodded the Stoll brothers yelled, "We are so reading it!"

"I take it Percy is your friend?" Apollo mused. The others nodded.

Thalia, Clarisse, and Piper glanced at Annabeth but she nodded too. Zeus made some seats appear in the middle of the room and the group sat down. Poseidon who was having an internal debate in his head about whether or not he should tell them about Percy decided that if they didn't find out now they would later and that might not be good.

"Before we start," Poseidon said, "You should probably know that Percy is my son." Zeus and Hades were about to start an outburst but then remembered that Nico, Thalia, and Jason were here and what Nico had said in the beginning and settled for glaring at Poseidon.

"Wait a minute, why were you yelling at us when you came here? Why do you have to get along with the Romans? What ship are you building?" Athena asked. The others glanced at Annabeth.

"You'll probably find out as we read the books," Annabeth said.

"I'll read first since I already have the book." Thalia said. "Chapter one…"

* * *

><p><strong>First fanfic. Hoped you liked it.<strong>

**Please Read and Review, Erudite 19**


	2. Vaporizing PreAlgebra Teachers

**I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre – Algebra Teacher **Thalia read.

"Are all the chapter names going to be weird like this?" Leo asked.

"Most likely." was the general answer.

**Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood.**

At this all of the half-bloods sighed. The gods wondered what might make them like this.

**If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: **

"Oh great, this'll be good." Thalia muttered.

**close this book right now. Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life.**

Thalia shrugged then said, "It's not that bad."

**Being a half – blood is dangerous. It's scary. Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways.**

The demigods grimaced.

**If you're a normal kid, reading this because you think it's fiction, great. Read on. I envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened.**

"So do we." This came from all the half-bloods including Jason, Piper, and Leo who had been told about the Titan War. All the gods shared a glance and the same thought was going through their minds, _What happened?_ Zeus was about to ask the demigods but then Thalia kept reading.

**But if you recognize yourself in these pages―if you feel something stirring inside―stop reading immediately. You might be one of us. And once you know that, it's only a matter of time before they sense it too, and they'll come for you.**

**Don't say I didn't warn you.**

"Unfortunately there was no way you could have with what was coming up." Nico said and the rest of the half-bloods nodded.

**My name is Percy Jackson.**

"No it's Peter Johnson." Conner said trying an attempt of a joke seeing most of the half-bloods sad that Percy wasn't there. Some managed to crack a smile and Dionysus agreed with Connor.

**I'm twelve years old. Until a few months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.**

**Am I a troubled kid?**

"Yes." Was what was echoed around the room and Poseidon huffed.

**Yeah. You could say that.**

At this all the half-bloods smiled.

**I could start at any point in my short miserable life to prove it, but things really started going bad last May, when our grade six class took a field trip to Manhattan- twenty-eight-mental-case kids and two teachers on a yellow school bus, heading for the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff.**

"That doesn't seem bad." This of course came from Annabeth.

**I know- it sounds like torture. **

At this Annabeth huffed and everyone snickered.

**Most Yancy field trips were.** **But Mr. Brunner, our latin teacher was leading this trip, so I had high hopes.**

Jason sat up, "Latin?"

**Mr. Brunner was this middle aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee. You wouldn't think he was cool, but he told stories and jokes and would let us play games in class. He also had this awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons, so he was the only teacher whose class didn't put me to sleep.**

"That's horrible." Athena stated and everyone ignored her.

"Hey, doesn't that sound like Chiron?" Katie asked to no one in particular. Everyone turned to Dionysus whose head was in a magazine.

He looked up and was about to go back to his magazine until he saw Zeus glaring at him. He sighed and said. "Yes, that's him."

"Are you even paying attention?" Aphrodite asked.

"Maybe, are you?" He got whacked in the head with a stiletto for that.

**I hoped the trip would be ok. At least, I hoped for once I wouldn't get in trouble.**

"Why would he even think that?" Clarisse asked.

"Yeah," Nico agreed, "When is Percy never in any type of trouble?"

Thalia and Annabeth just shrugged.

Poseidon was wondering why Clarisse and Nico would say that. _Would his son get in that much trouble in the future?_

**Boy was I wrong.**

Annabeth, Nico, Thalia, and Clarisse snorted.

**See, bad things happen to me on field trips. Like at my fifth-grade school, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield, I had this accident with a Revolutionary War cannon. I wasn't aiming for the school bus but of course, I got expelled anyway.**

…

"Oh… my… gods!" Leo managed to yell through his laughter. Everyone else however couldn't breathe. After everyone calmed down Thalia continued.

**And before that, at my fourth-grade school when we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took an unplanned swim. **

This resulted in another round of laughter. A couple minutes later they managed to calm down.

**And the time before that... Well, you get the idea.**

At this point all of the half-bloods were arguing.

"He's such a kelp head." Thalia said.

"No, no Thalia." Nico said, "He's an aqua dude." Connor and Travis quickly agreed with Nico and Nico got a smug look on his face.

"You're all wrong," Clarisse interrupted them, "Obviously he's Prissy."

Before Poseidon could interrupt the group started a debate on which one of them was correct with the Stolls backing up Nico. Katie started yelling at the Stolls and Nico while backing up Clarisse. Jason and Leo started cracking up at the nicknames they had for Percy. The gods watched this in interest; this was their children after all. Piper leaned over to Annabeth and all the gods stopped watching the fight to see what she would do.

"Are they always like this?" Piper asked.

"Yeah," Annabeth answered smiling a bit, "Hold on."

Annabeth cleared her throat and the group stopped arguing to look at her afraid of what she would do since they were arguing about Percy. She might still be hard on that subject but she simply said, "You're all wrong."

"Oh," Travis said taking a risk, "and why is that Annie?"

Annabeth glared at Travis and he shuddered.

"Because he's a Seaweed Brain."

…

Then simultaneously they all said, "Touche."

The deities raised an eyebrow at this and glanced at Athena. Before they could say anything Thalia continued. Athena however kept on wondering why her daughter had a nickname for Poseidon's son. They shouldn't be close to each other.

**This trip, I was determined to be good. All the way into the city I put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac girl, hitting my best friend Grover in the back of the head with chinks of peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich.**

At this the half-bloods frowned.

**Grover was an easy target.**

"Grover the satyr!" Zeus boomed and started to huff.

Thalia nodded. "He's not that bad father."

"He let you die."

"He didn't let me die." Thalia said. "I chose my fate." Her father calmed down after this.

**He was scrawny. He cried when he got frustrated.**

"Did he do that because of…?" Thalia asked Annabeth.

"Yeah," Annabeth answered.

Thalia sighed and the gods understood what she was talking about.

**He must've been held back several grades, because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin. On top of all that, he was crippled. He had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some kind of muscular disease in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him, but don't let that fool you. You should have seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria.**

"I don't think Grover would like that description." Apollo mused.

"He's blowing his cover." Artemis said.

"I don't blame him," Connor said.

"Oh," Artemis said, "Why not?"

"'Cause, Grover's obsessed with Enchiladas." Travis said and Connor agreed.

**Anyway, Nancy Bobofit was throwing wads of sandwich that stuck in his curly brown hair, and she knew I couldn't do anything back to her cause I was already on probation. The headmaster threatened me with death **

"What!" Poseidon shouted.

Thalia smiled and said, "Wait I'm not done reading."

**by in-school suspension if anything bad, embarrassing, or even mildly entertaining happened on this trip.**

"Oh," Poseidon answered smiling sheepishly. A couple people snickered.

Hermes frowned, "That sucks." Apollo agreed.

**"I'm going to kill her," I mumbled.**

"Do it!" Clarisse and Ares shouted. Some people agreed.

**Grover tried to calm me down. "It's ok. I like peanut butter." He dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch.**

**"That's it." I started to get up, but Grover pulled me back to my seat.**

Ares became very sad at this.

**"You're already on probation," he reminded me. "You know who'll get blamed if anything happens."** **Looking back on it, I wish I'd decked Nancy Bobofit right then and there. **

**In-school suspension would've been nothing compared to the mess I was about to get myself into.**

"What!" Poseidon shouted. Everyone else ignored him.

**Mr. Brunner led the museum tour.** **He rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding us through the big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery.**

**It blew my mind that this stuff had survived for two thousand, three thousand years.**

"Longer than that." Hephaestus muttered.

**He gathered us around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top, and started telling us how it was a grave marker, a stele for a girl our age. He told us about the carvings on the sides. I was trying to listen to what he had to say, because it was kind of interesting, but everyone around me was talking, and every time, I told them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs. Dodds, would give me the evil eye.**

"Why does she sound like someone I know?" Nico wondered and Hades agreed. She did sound familiar.

**Mrs. Dodds was this little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to drive a Harley right into your locker. She had come to Yancy halfway through the year, when our last math teacher had a nervous breakdown.**

Nico's eyes widened at this. He knew who "Mrs. Dodd's" was. He hoped his dad had guessed it to but no such luck.

"Pfft, yeah nervous breakdown." Hermes muttered.

**From her first day, Mrs. Dodds loved Nancy Bobofit and figured I was devil spawn. **

"Well if you want to go by fact," Travis started.

"That would be Nico," Connor finished.

"Yeah… wait-What!" Nico said. All the demigods started laughing and Hades huffed and glared at the gods daring them to say anything. Even Annabeth cracked a smile and all the half-bloods could tell she was sort of back to normal.

**She would point her finger at me and say, "Now honey," real sweet and I knew I was going to get after-school detention for a month. One time, after she'd made me erase answers out of old math workbooks until midnight, **

"She really is evil isn't she?" Leo asked and Jason nodded.

"You have no idea." Nico muttered but they couldn't hear him.

**I told Grover I didn't think Mrs. Dodds was human. He looked at me, real serious, and said, "You're absolutely right."**

All the half-bloods shuddered.

**Mr. Brunner kept talking about the Greek funeral art.**

**Finally, Nancy Bobofit snickered something about the naked guy on the stele, **

"She's so immature." Piper said and everyone else agreed.

**and I turned around and said, "Will you shut up?"**

"Good." Jason said and several people nodded.

**It came out louder than I meant it to.**

"Of course it did." Annabeth said.

**The whole group laughed. Mr. Brunner stopped his story.**

**"Mr. Jackson," he said, "did you have a comment?"**

**My face was totally red. I said, "No, sir."**

**Mr. Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele.**

**"Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"**

**I looked at the carving and felt a flush of relief, because I actually recognized it. "That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"**

Poseidon and all the elder gods except Zeus shivered. "It had to be that one didn't it?" Hades said. Nico grimaced along with his father. Katie didn't look to good either. Thalia looked at Nico and Katie with sympathy.

"Why is it never a different stele?" Demeter ranted. "Why is it always that one?"

Thalia, to stop Demeter's rant, kept reading.

**"Yes," said Mr. Brunner obviously not satisfied. "And he did this because..."**

**"Well..." I racked my brain trying to remember. **

"He needs to eat more muffins." Demeter said.

"Oh, will you stop with that already!" Hades yelled.

Nico snorted. "It's worse in the future." He said. "All she talks about is cereal."

"Cereal…" Demeter mused.

"Don't give her any ideas!" Hades said. "Keep reading Thalia!"

**"Kronos was the king god, and-"**

"GOD!" everyone shouted and Zeus huffed.

"Well if he didn't know then he does now." Rachel said. The half-bloods agreed.

"What do you mean he knows now?" Athena asked the group. They all glanced worriedly at each other.

"Nothing." They all chorused. Athena however still remained suspicious to what was going on.

Chris who got at what Rachel was hinting at grimaced remembering what he had done. "I'm sure Chiron will correct him."

**"God?" Mr. Brunner asked.**

**"Titan," I corrected myself.**

"See."

**"And... he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters-"**

Again the elder gods grimaced.

**"Eeew!" said one of the girls behind me.**

"Exactly." Aphrodite said.

**"-and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans," I continued, "and the gods won."**

"He just shortened 10 years of fighting," Thalia started.

"Into a couple of sentences," Jason finished.

"If he had said it any other way it would have taken too long." Zeus shrugged.

**Some snickers from the group.**

"Why are they laughing he got that right?" Chris asked Clarisse.

"Mortals are weird." Clarisse replied.

"I'm right here you know." Rachel said. They ignored her.

**Behind me, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'"**

**"And why, Mr. Jackson," Brunner said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"**

"Busted," the Stolls snickered.

Thalia smiled as she read the next line.

**"Busted," Grover muttered.**

"Oh no," Conner started.

"We think like a satyr." Travis finished.

They both looked at each other and grimaced. "Oh the horror!" They hugged each other and acted like they were crying.

Annabeth shook her head at the duo's antics and told Thalia to read on.

**"Shut up," Nancy hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair.**

**At least Nancy got packed, too. Mr. Brunner was the only one who every caught her saying anything wrong. He had radar ears.**

"Or a horse's ears." Leo said. "Wait, do his ears count as a horse's ears?"

His answer was a bunch of shrugs.

**I thought about his question, and shrugged. "I don't know, sir."**

**"I see," Mr. Brunner looked disappointed. "Well, half credit, Mr. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach. The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe and scattered him remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"**

All the demigods smiled at this.

**The class drifted off, the girls holding their stomachs, the guys pushing each other around and acting like doofuses.**

"Boys are doofuses." Artemis said. All the girls agreed while the boys shouted and protested.

"Thalia read on." Athena said.

**Grover and I were about to follow when Mr. Brunner said, "Mr. Jackson."**

**I knew what was coming.**

**I told Grover to keep going. Then I turned toward Mr. Brunner. "Sir?"**

**Mr. Brunner had this look that wouldn't let you go―**

"It never does," Piper said and the others agreed.

**intense brown eyes that could've been a thousand years old and had seen everything.**

**"You must learn the answer to my question," Mr. Brunner told me.**

**"About the Titans?"**

**"About real life. And how your studies apply to it."**

**"Oh."**

**"What you learn from me," he said, "is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson."**

**I wanted to get angry, this guy pushed me so hard.**

"It's for the best." Annabeth said.

**I mean, sure it was kind of cool on tournament days, when he dressed up in a suit of Roman armor and shouted: "What ho!" and challenged us, sword point against chalk, to run to the board and name every Greek and Roman person who ever lived, and their mother, and what god they worshipped.**

"Cool."

**But Mr. Brunner expected me to be as good as everybody else, despite the fact I have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder and I have never made above a C- in my life. No―he didn't want me to be as good he expected me to be better. And I just couldn't learn all those names and facts, much less spell them correctly.**

"I know what you mean." Leo said.

**I mumbled something about trying harder, while Mr. Brunner took a long sad look at the stele, like he'd been at this girl's funeral.**

"He probably was."

**He told me to go outside and eat my lunch. The class gathered on the front steps of the museum, where we could watch the foot traffic along Fifth Avenue.**

**Overhead, a large storm was brewing, with clouds blacker than I'd ever seen over the city. I figured maybe it was Global warming or something, because the weather all across New York State had been weird since Christmas. We'd had massive snow storms, flooding, wildfires from lightning strikes. I wouldn't have been surprised if this was a hurricane blowing in.**

Everyone glanced at Zeus and then glanced at the demigods.

"You'll find out soon." Annabeth said and Thalia kept reading.

**Nobody else seemed to notice. Some of the guys were pelting pigeons with Lunchables crackers. Nancy Bobofit was trying to pickpocket something from a lady's purse, and, of course, Mrs. Dodds wasn't seeing a thing.**

**Grover and I sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others. We thought that maybe if we did that, everybody wouldn't know we were from that school―the school for loser freaks who couldn't make it elsewhere.**

**"Detention?" Grover asked.**

**"Nah," I said. "Not from Brunner. I wish he'd lay off me sometimes. I mean―I'm not a genius."**

All the demigods minus Jason, Piper, and Leo snorted.

**Grover didn't say anything for a while. Then, when I thought he was going to give me some deep philosophical comment to make me feel better, he said, "Can I have your apple?"**

Annabeth cracked a smile despite feeling sad that Percy wasn't there and the other demigods knew it was safe to laugh.

**I didn't have much of an appetite, so I let him take it.**

**I watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue and thought about my mom's apartment, only a little ways uptown from where we sat. I hadn't seen her since Christmas. I wanted so bad to jump in a taxi and head for home. She'd hug me and be glad to see me, but she'd be disappointed, too. She'd send me right back to Yancy, remind me that I had to try harder, even if this was my sixth school in six years and I was probably going to get kicked out again. I wouldn't be able to stand that sad look she'd give me.**

Poseidon and those who had met Sally smiled.

Aphrodite squealed and when everyone turned to her she said, "Poseidon still likes her."

Piper smiled at her mother's antics.

"Percy really cares about her doesn't he?" Piper asked and everyone who had met Sally smiled and nodded their heads.

"You have no idea Piper." Annabeth muttered. Athena raised an eyebrow at this wondering if her daughter was friends with the son of Poseidon.

**Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized cafe table.**

"Cool," said Leo and he started fantasizing about how it looked.

**I was about to unwrap my sandwich when Nancy Bobofit appeared in front of me with her ugly friends―I guess she'd gotten tired of stealing from the tourists―and dumped her half-eaten lunch in Grover's lap.**

Thalia and Nico growled while Annabeth frowned.

**"Oops." She grinned at me with her crooked teeth. Her freckles were orange, as if somebody had spray-painted her face with liquid Cheetos.**

"Oh yeah," Travis said his voice oozing with sarcasm, "Very attractive."

"Percy's descriptions are weird." Nico said.

"I wonder how he'll describe us." Thalia said.

**I tried to stay cool. The school counselor had told me a million times, "Count to ten, get control of your temper." But I was so mad my mind went blank. A wave roared in my ears.**

All the demigods smiled at this knowing Nancy would get what she would deserve.

"**I don't remember touching her, but the next thing I knew, Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming, "Percy pushed me!"**

"Woo! Go Aqua Dude!" Connor screamed.

Before a fight could break out over nicknames again Piper said, "Thalia, if you could?"

**Mrs. Dodds materialized next to us.**

**Some of the kids were whispering: "Did you see―"**

**"―the water―"**

**"―like it grabbed her―"**

Everyone smiled at this.

**I didn't know what they were talking about. All I knew was that I was in trouble again.**

**As soon as Mrs. Dodds was sure poor little Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt at the museum gift shop, etc., etc., Mrs. Dodds turned on me. There was a triumphant fire in her eyes, as if I'd done something she'd been waiting for all semester. **

"Oh no." All the demigods said realizing who Mrs. Dodds was.

Hades who realized who Mrs. Dodds was gasped and said, "Alecto."

All the gods gasped and the tension in the air rose.

"You sent a fury after my son." Poseidon almost yelled. Hades eyes were bugging out.

"If it helps," Nico said fearing the safety of his father, "Percy's fine."

Poseidon glared at Hades but didn't do anything.

**"Now, honey―"**

**"I know," I grumbled. "A month erasing workbooks."**

"Never guess your punishment." Connor and Travis said trying to diffuse the tension. "Exactly," Hermes agreed, "That's rule number 18."

"There's a rule book?" Hephaestus asked incredulous.

"Yep."

**That wasn't the right thing to say.**

Connor, Travis, and Hermes looked smug at this. Everyone rolled their eyes at them.

**"Come with me," Mrs. Dodds said.**

**"Wait!" Grover yelped. "It was me. I pushed her."**

**I stared at him, stunned. I couldn't believe he was trying to cover for me. Mrs. Dodds scared Grover to death.**

**She glared at him so hard his whiskery chin trembled.**

"That is so cool," said Connor, "When we get back we have to get Grover to do that."

"We should totally video tape it." Travis agreed.

"Hey guys?"

"Yeah Thalia?"

"Shut up."

**"I don't think so, Mr. Underwood," she said.**

**"But―"**

**"You―will―stay―here."**

**Grover looked at me desperately.**

**"It's okay, man," I told him. "Thanks for trying."**

**"Honey," Mrs. Dodds barked at me. "Now."**

**Nancy Bobofit smirked.**

**I gave her my deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare.**

"It's probably not as good as mines." Nico said.

Thalia and Clarisse snorted but didn't say anything. Nico could look pretty scary when he wanted to, even maniacal.

**Then I turned to face Mrs. Dodds, but she wasn't there. She was standing at the museum entrance, way at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently at me to come on.**

**How'd she get there so fast?**

"Super human speed." Katie said.

**I have moments like that a lot, when my brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing I know I've missed something, as if a puzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the blank place behind it. The school counselor told me this was part of the ADHD, my brain misinterpreting things.**

"I'm not so sure." Poseidon said.

**I wasn't so sure.**

"Like father, like son." Rachel said. Everyone else snorted. Poseidon however was happy that his son thought like him.

**I went after Mrs. Dodds.**

The tension increased twice as much then.

**Halfway up the steps, I glanced back at Grover. He was looking pale, cutting his eyes between me and Mr. Brunner, like he wanted Mr. Brunner to notice what was going on, but Mr. Brunner was absorbed in his novel.**

"Oh great."

**I looked back up. Mrs. Dodds had disappeared again. She was now inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall.**

**Okay, I thought. She's going to make me buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift shop.**

"I wish." Annabeth muttered.

**But apparently that wasn't the plan.**

"It never is." Annabeth said. Athena began wondering why her daughter was so worried for this son of Poseidon. Maybe they were friends but they can't be that close. Can they?

**I followed her deeper into the museum. When I finally caught up to her, we were back in the Greek and Roman section.**

**Except for us, the gallery was empty.**

"Even better." Leo said his voice full of sarcasm.

**Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She was making this weird noise in her throat, like growling.**

"She probably is." Clarisse said and Piper agreed.

**Even without the noise, I would've been nervous. It's weird being alone with a teacher, especially Mrs. Dodds. Something about the way she looked at the frieze, as if she wanted to pulverize it...**

**"You've been giving us problems, honey," she said.**

Zeus narrowed his eyes. "What problems?"

But none of the demigods answered. Suddenly Athena gasped. She had made the connection between the title and why Zeus was acting so weird.

"What is it?" Zeus asked.

Athena was about to answer when she saw the look on the demigods' faces pleading her not to tell. She sighed and said,"Nothing."

All the demigods were relieved. If Zeus had found out what had happened he would have probably killed younger Percy on the spot.

**I did the safe thing. I said, "Yes, ma'am."**

**She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?"**

"Get away with what?" Apollo asked. But no one answered.

**The look in her eyes was beyond mad. It was evil.**

**She's a teacher, I thought nervously. It's not like she's going to hurt me.**

"Sadly, that's exactly what she plans on doing." Annabeth muttered.

**I said, "I'll―I'll try harder, ma'am."**

**Thunder shook the building.**

All the gods and some of the demigods glanced at Zeus who was wondering why he was so angry.

**"We are not fools, Percy Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."**

"Confess about what?" Poseidon asked. He was truly worried for his son but no one offered an answer.

**I didn't know what she was talking about.** **All I could think of was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy I'd been selling out of my dorm room.**

"Sure, that's it." Chris said.

**Or maybe they'd realized I got my essay on Tom Sawyer from the Internet without ever reading the book and now they were going to take away my grade. Or worse, they were going to make me read the book.**

All the gods and demigods agreed while the goddesses rolled their eyes. Hey, the demigods do have dyslexia.

**"Well?" she demanded.**

**"Ma'am, I don't..."**

**"Your time is up," she hissed.**

**Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice me to ribbons.**

No one said a word or moved a centimeter while Thalia read.

**Then things got even stranger.**

"How strange can they get?" Leo asked.

**Mr. Brunner, who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand.**

A collective sigh was let out as Thalia read this.

**"What ho, Percy!" he shouted, and tossed the pen through the air.**

**Mrs. Dodds lunged at me. With a yelp, I dodged and felt talons slash the air next to my ear. I snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air, but when it hit my hand, it wasn't a pen anymore. It was a sword―Mr. Brunner's bronze sword, which he always used on tournament day.**

Poseidon smiled fondly, "Ah, Anaklusmos."

**Mrs. Dodds spun toward me with a murderous look in her eyes.**

**My knees were jelly. My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the sword.**

"Wuss." Ares said and Clarisse was about to agree but then Ares was blasted with water and Clarisse decided to keep her mouth shut.

**She snarled, "Die, honey!"**

"She used that all the way back then?" Nico said with disgust.

**And she flew straight at me.**

**Absolute terror ran through my body. I did the only thing that came naturally: I swung the sword.**

"Yeah, 'cause it's natural to everyone to swing a sword." Leo said.

**The metal blade hit her shoulder and passed clean through her body as if she were made of water. Hisss!**

"Yeah Go-"

"If you say Aqua Dude I will singe off your eyebrows with lightning."

**Mrs. Dodds was a sand castle in a power fan.**

"That's a weird way to describe it." Jason said.

**She exploded into yellow powder, vaporized on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air, as if those two glowing red eyes were still watching me.**

"That's creepy." Rachel said.

**I was alone.**

**There was a ballpoint pen in my hand.**

**Mr. Brunner wasn't there. Nobody was there but me.**

"The mist is still affecting him?"

**My hands were still trembling. My lunch must've been contaminated with magic mushrooms or something.**

"Yeah that's it." Hermes said.

"Magic mushrooms…" Connor said.

"Oh no…" All the demigods got scared.

Travis grinned. "Could we-"

"NO!"

**Had I imagined the whole thing?**

"No."

**I went back outside. It had started to rain.**

**Grover was sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his head. Nancy Bobofit was still standing there, soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ugly friends. When she saw me, she said, "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."**

"Who?"

**I said, "Who?"**

**"Our teacher. Duh!"**

"What just happened?" Rachel asked.

"The mist." Annabeth replied.

"Oh."

**I blinked. We had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr. I asked Nancy what she was talking about.**

**She just rolled her eyes and turned away.**

**I asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds was.**

**He said, "Who?"**

**But he paused first, and he wouldn't look at me, so I thought he was messing with me.**

Travis turned to Connor, "We need to give Grover lying lessons when we go back."

**"Not funny, man," I told him. "This is serious."**

**Thunder boomed overhead.**

"Apparently Zeus think so." Piper said.

**I saw Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, reading his book, as if he'd never moved.**

**I went over to him.**

**He looked up, a little distracted. "Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson."**

Many people smiled at this.

**I handed Mr. Brunner his pen. I hadn't even realized I was still holding it.**

**"Sir," I said, "where's Mrs. Dodds?"**

**He stared at me blankly. "Who?"**

**"The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher."**

**He frowned and sat forward, looking mildly concerned. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling all right?"**

"At least Chiron can lie." Travis said. Connor nodded in agreement.

"Who's reading next?" Thalia asked.

* * *

><p><strong>Read and Review. Flames accepted. Erudite19<strong>


	3. Socks of Death

**"Three Old Ladies Knit The Socks of Death." **Nico read.

"Death?" Hades asked innocently. Nico nodded.

Hades smiled which made him look more like a madman than ever. Everyone shivered.

"Told you he was deranged." Zeus told Poseidon.

**I was used to the occasional weird experience, but usually they were over quickly. This twenty-four/seven hallucination was more than I could handle. For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on me. **

**The students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr-a perky blond woman whom I'd never seen in my life until she got on our bus at the end of the field trip-had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas.**

"I don't blame him for being paranoid. If that happened to me I'd probably be locked up in a mental institute before the end of the school year." Apollo stated.

"Apollo, you _belong_ in a mental institute." Artemis replied and Athena agreed.

"Thanks sis, nice to know I belong somewhere."

…

"Hey! That's insulting." Apollo pouted. The rest of the gods did their hardest to hold back their laughter to avoid insulting Apollo. The demigods however didn't hold anything back and Rachel huffed.

"It's alright Apollo embrace it." Hermes said. "I can set you up in a center as soon as we finish reading these books. You'll get better."

Nico took that as a cue to continue reading.

**Every so often I would spring a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, just to see if I could trip them up, but they would stare at me like I was psycho.**

Clarisse snorted. "That's an understatement. Percy is psycho."

"Yeah, he doesn't care what people think about him in public if he does something stupid. He'll just do it." Thalia agreed.

"Then that means he's exactly like his dad." Demeter said and Poseidon huffed.

**It got so I almost believed them-Mrs. Dodds had never existed.**

"At least he'll be safe for a little while." Chris stated.

"Only for a little bit." Annabeth replied. "It said almost."

**Almost.**

Annabeth blushed at this and the demigods chuckled.

**But Grover couldn't fool me.**

"Ugh, we really need to teach him how to lie when we go back." Connor said.

"I'll set it up." Travis stated as he got a small book from his back pocket and wrote down Grover's name.

**When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, **

"Rule number 18!" Hermes said exasperated.

**then claim she didn't exist**. **But I knew he was lying.**

"Grover is a really bad liar." Nico stated.

"I know right." Thalia replied.

"Once I asked him why my cabin looked liked it was trashed because he was standing right next to it and he looked at the Hermes cabin and started fidgeting with his hands and stuttered when he told me that he didn't know." Nico said.

"Wow," Travis said to Connor. "This is going to be hard."

"I don't think Juniper would like that." Katie said.

"Who's Juniper?" Piper asked.

"A tree nymph. She's Grover's girlfriend."

"Oh."

**Something was going on. Something **_**had**_** happened at the museum.**

"No really." Leo said. "I wouldn't have guessed."

"Oh shut up," Piper scolded. "You're first monster attack didn't end so well either."

Leo grimaced at the reminder.

**I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold sweat.**

"I hate it when that happens." Nico said and the others agreed. They had had trouble sleeping over night mares like that before.

**The freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood. One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in my dorm room. A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy.**

"Why are you so angry Zeus?" Demeter asked.

Zeus furrowed his eyebrows. "I don't know."

Before anyone could ask questions Nico kept reading.

**One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year.**

"And now apparently Poseidon's angry too."

**I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time. My grades slipped from Ds to Fs.**

Athena gasped. "He really is your spawn fish face."

"Oh shut it, owl breath."

"Kelp for brains."

"Know-it-all."

"Barnacle beard."

"Bird brain."

"ENOUGH." Zeus yelled. The others sighed. They had been watching the argument like a tennis match.

Ares pouted. "The fight was just getting good…" He faltered at Zeus's glare.

Nico took this time to keep reading.

**I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends. I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class.**

Poseidon sighed. _Oh, Percy._

**Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped. I called him an old sot. I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good.**

Annabeth giggled.

"What does it mean?" Jason asked.

"A drunk person."

…

Then the room erupted in fits of giggles.

**The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy.**

**Fine, I told myself. Just fine.**

**I was homesick.**

"Aww, is Prissy missing his mommy?" Clarisse said and Connor and Travis snickered. Annabeth and Thalia rolled their eyes.

"If you knew how she was you would miss her too." Nico said. Poseidon looked at Nico.

"You've met her?"

"Yeah." Nico said.

"She makes the best blue cookies." Thalia said and Annabeth agreed.

"Wait, blue cookies?" Piper asked. Rachel nodded.

Athena looked at Annabeth. "You've met her too?" Annabeth nodded. Nico kept on reading.

Hermes wasn't listening. He leaned toward Apollo. "What is a daughter of Athena doing meeting the son of Poseidon's mom?"

Apollo shrugged. "You don't think they could be together do you?"

A light erupted in Hermes's eyes. "That would be so ironic. We could tease Athena about it."

"No seriously man. She really seems to care about him though."

"We'll see. We can ask Aphrodite later." The two turned back to Nico but found that everyone was staring at them.

"What are you two talking about?" Athena asked.

"Umm… wouldn't you like to know?" Hermes grinned. Athena looked disgusted.

"Never mind."

**I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, even if I had to go to public school and put up with my obnoxious stepfather and his stupid poker parties.**

Poseidon frowned and growled. When everyone turned to look at him he said,"Read Nico."

**And yet . . . there were things I'd miss at Yancy. The view of the woods out my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees. I'd miss Grover, who'd been a good friend, even if he was a little strange.**

"That's sweet… I guess." Aphrodite said.

**I worried how he'd survive next year without me. I'd miss Latin class, too-Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days in his faith that I could do well.**

**As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for. **

Piper smiled. "He wants to impress Chiron."

**I hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner told me about this subject being life-a-death for me. I wasn't sure why, but I'd started to believe him.**

"Good."

**The evening before my final, I got so frustrated I threw the **_**Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology**_**across my dorm room. **

"How could he?" I'll let you figure out who said this cough*Athena*cough.

Everyone else just ignored her.

**Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards. There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon, or Polydictes and Polydeuces. And conjugating those Latin Verbs? Forget it.**

"That's so easy-" Athena started.

"Read! Before she starts!" Ares yelled. Athena huffed.

**I paced the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt.**

"Ugh, not a good feeling." Travis said. Connor nodded.

"And how would you know how that feels?" Jason asked.

"One of our pranks on the Demeter cabin backfired once and there were too many ants and … it's a long story."

Demeter smirked while Katie punched Travis and Connor.

**I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes. **_**I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson.**_

**I took a deep breath. I picked up my mythology book.**

**I'd never asked a teacher for help before. Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers. At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam. I didn't want to leave Yancy Academy with him thinking I hadn't tried.**

"He's not very sure of himself is he?" Chris asked Annabeth. She nodded.

**I walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor.**

**I was three steps from the door handle when I heard voices inside the office. Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice was definitely Grover's said ". . . worries about Percy, sir."**

"Oh, no."

**I froze.**

**I'm not usually an eavesdropper,**

Nico, Thalia, and Annabeth snorted.

"I am." The Stolls stated.

"Of_ course_ you are." Annabeth rolled her eyes.

**but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult.**

"I can't say I wouldn't." Piper said.

**I inched closer.**

**". . . alone this summer." Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the **_**school**_**! Now that we know for sure, and **_**they**_** know too-"**

"**We would only make matters worse by rushing him." Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more."**

**"But he may not have time. The summer solstice dead-line-"**

"A dead line?" Artemis muttered. "Then something has to be done by the summer solstice but why-"

Her eyes bugged out. She had made the connection between the book title and the information she had now.

"You know what it is don't you?" Hermes asked.

"Are you going to tell us?" Ares stated.

"No, you can figure it out by yourself."

**"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can."**

**"Sir, he **_**saw**_** her . . ."**

**"His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that."**

**"Sir, I . . . I can't fail in my duties again." Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean."**

At this Thalia sighed.

**"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall-"**

"Why would they have to worry about that?" Poseidon said but everyone ignored him. They were too caught up in the book. Even Dionysus put his magazine down to listen.

**The mythology book dropped out of my hand and hit the floor with a thud.**

"No! That's rule number six. Don't blow your cover!" Hermes said.

**Mr. Brunner went silent.**

**My heart hammering, I picked up the book and backed down the hall.**

"Good." Leo said. "Retreat."

**A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer's bow.**

"He's out of his wheelchair?" Katie asked.

**I opened the nearest door and slipped inside.**

**A few seconds later I heard a slow **_**clop-clop-clop,**_**like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside my door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, then moved on.**

**A bead of sweat tickled down my neck.**

The same thing happened all around the room.

**Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."**

"What happened at the solstice?" Hades asked.

…

"Ugh, why can't you guys just give us an answer? This is getting too confusing." Ares said and Aphrodite agreed.

**"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn . . ."**

**"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."**

**"Don't remind me."**

**The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office.**

**I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever. **

**Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm.**

**Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night.**

**"Hey," he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to get ready for this test?"**

**I didn't answer.**

**"You look awful." He frowned. "Is everything okay?"**

**"Just . . . tired."**

**I turned so he couldn't read my expression, **

"That's not going to work." Dionysus said. "He can't read your expressions but he can read your emotions."

**and started getting ready for bed.**

**I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to believe I'd imagined the whole thing.**

"Don't."

**But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back. They thought I was in some kind of danger.**

**The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam,**

"Three hours!" The demigods yelled except for Jason.

"I don't know, it doesn't sound so bad to me." Jason said.

"That's because you can read Latin, Jason." Piper said. "We can't."

**my eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I'd misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.**

**For a moment I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.**

**"Percy," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's . . . it's for the best."**

**His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic kidding motions with her lips.**

Annabeth turned slightly red at this but no one noticed.

**I mumbled, "Okay, sir."**

**"I mean . . ." Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time."**

"Wow, wait to go Chiron." Annabeth said her voice dripping with sarcasm.

**My eyes stung.**

Clarisse was about to tease Percy but then saw the look on Annabeth's face and decided to hold back.

**Here was my favorite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out.**

"That is harsh." Clarisse said.

**"Right." I said, trembling.**

**"," Mr. Brunner said. Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say . . . you're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be-"**

**"Thanks," I blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me."**

**"Percy-"**

**But I was already gone.**

**On the last day of the term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase.**

**The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month. They were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they were **_**rich**_** juvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives or ambassadors, or celebrities. I was a nobody, from a family of nobodies.**

"I'm not so sure about that." Nico said.

"Well," Hades started. "Considering who were talking about..."

"I wouldn't mind," Zeus continued, "Calling Poseidon a nobody."

Poseidon huffed. "Look who's talking."

Before WWIII could break out, Nico decided to read.

**They asked me what I'd be doing this summer and I told them I was going back to the city.**

**What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall.**

**"Oh," one of the guys said. "That's cool."**

**They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed.**

"That's mean." Rachel said.

**The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to. He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had, so there we were, together again, heading into the city.**

**During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen. Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased. But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound.**

"Oh, Grover."

**Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore.**

**I said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"**

"That must have scared him real good." Hermes said with a glint in his eyes. Apollo agreed.

**Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha- what do you mean?"**

**I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam.**

"No, don't confess. Never confess." Connor said.

**Grover's eye twitched. "How much did you hear?"**

**"Oh . . . not much. What's the summer solstice deadline?"**

"Exactly what we want to know." Poseidon muttered.

**He winced. "Look, Percy . . . I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers . . ."**

Nico chuckled. When everyone looked at him he said, "Demon math teachers."

**"Grover-"**

**"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and . . ."**

"Grover's a really bad liar." Thalia said.

**"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar."**

"Thank you!" The Stolls shouted.

Thalia however was looking at the book in horror while everyone else snickered at her expression.

**His ears turned pink.**

**From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer."**

**The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes, but I finally made out something like:**

_**Grover Underwood**_

_**Keeper**_

_**Half-Blood Hill**_

_**Long Island, New York**_

_**(800) 009-0009**_

"Why is it written in fancy script?" Athena asked Dionysus.

He smiled evilly, "It's funny to see them try to read it."

**"What's Half-"**

**"Don't say it aloud!" He yelped. "That's my, um . . . summer address."**

**My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy.**

**"Okay." I said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion."**

"Pfft, mansion."

**He nodded. "Or . . . or if you need me."**

**"Why would I need you?"**

"That's harsh." Piper said and Jason agreed.

**It came out harsher than I meant it to.**

"Good."

**Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. "Look Percy, the truth is, I-I kind of have to protect you."**

**I stared at him.**

**All year long, I'd gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him. I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me. **

"That's sweet." Katie said.

**And here he was acting like he was the one who defended **_**me.**_

**"Grover," I said, "What exactly are you protecting me from?"**

**There was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs.**

All the girls wrinkled their noses. The guys didn't look much better.

**The driver cursed and limped the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.**

**After a few minutes clanking around in the engine around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off. Grover and I filed outside with everybody else.**

**We were stretch of country road-no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there. On our side of the highway was nothing but maple trees and litter from passing cars. On the side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.**

Everyone shivered. "Why does that sound familiar?" Hades wondered.

**The stuff on sale looked really good: heaping boxes of blood red cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice. There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks I'd ever seen.**

**I mean these socks were the size of sweaters, but they were clearly socks. The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.**

**All three women looked ancient, with pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses.**

The gods gasped. "The Fates!"

"What?" The demigods yelled.

"He saw the fates!" Annabeth yelled and Thalia and Nico paled.

**The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at me.**

The tension in the room rose.

**I looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood had drained from his face. His nose was twitching.**

**"Grover?" I said. "Hey, man-"**

**"Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?"**

**"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?"**

"Not funny, Perce." Chris stated.

**"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all."**

Everyone snorted.

**The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors-gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I heard Grover catch his breath.**

Everyone else caught their breaths too.

**"We're getting on the bus," he told me. "Come on."**

**"What?" I said. "It's thousand degrees in there."**

"Listen to him." Poseidon urged. No one bothered to tell him he was speaking to a book.

**"Come on!" He pried open the door and climbed inside, but I stayed back.**

"NO!"

**Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me.**

**The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear that **_**snip**_** across four-lanes of traffic.**

At this everyone else got extremely pale. Nico had to catch his breath while he read this sentence.

**Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for- Sasquatch or Godzilla.**

Some people cracked a sad smile at this but no one laughed.

**At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life.**

**The passengers cheered.**

Everyone relaxed a little at this.

**"Darn right!" yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"**

**Once we got going I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu.**

**Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering.**

**"Grover?"**

**"Yeah?"**

**"What are you not telling me?"**

**He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"**

**"You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like . . . Mrs. Dodds, are they?"**

"Worse." Zeus whispered but everyone heard him.

**His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds. He said, "Just tell me what you saw."**

**"The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn."**

**He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it wasn't. It was something else, something almost-older.**

"He's very observant." Jason said.

**He said, "You saw her snip the cord."**

**"Yeah. So?" But even as I said it, I knew it was a big deal. **

**This is not happening," Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumbs. "I don't want this to be like the last time."**

Again Thalia frowned. She didn't know her choice had affected Grover so much.

**"What last time?"**

**"Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth."**

**"Grover," I said, because he was really starting to scare me, "What are you talking about?"**

**"Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me."**

**This seemed like a strange request to me, but I promised he could.**

**"Is this like a superstition or something?" I asked.**

**No answer.**

**"Grover-that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?"**

**He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers I'd like best on my coffin.**

"Dramatic much." Nico snorted.

"How is he still alive?" Chris asked.

"He's still alive?" Poseidon asked a little hopefully. Leo nodded.

"Maybe it wasn't _his_ life cord." Thalia said. They all got what she was saying and Annabeth who had gotten considerably pale throughout this chapter said, "I'll read next."

* * *

><p><strong>Read and Review. Might add some more characters later on in the story. Suggestions are welcome.<strong>

**Erudite19**


	4. Losing Pants

**Here's Chapter 4.**

* * *

><p><strong>"Grover Unexpectedly Loses His Pants"<strong> Annabeth read.

"What the heck?" Connor snickered.

"Why would Grover loose his pants?" Travis asked.

"I know!" Nico said. "He entered a body building contest but he didn't want to show off his week and spindly arms so he showed off his somewhat buff and skinny mountain goat legs."

"Or it's just the fact that he's a faun, I mean satyr." Jason said. "And he needed to run faster to get to Percy so he took off his pants."

"Oh."

"I like my explanation better though." Nico said. The Stoll brothers nodded in agreement.

"But it doesn't make sense." Athena stated.

"You have to admit though," Hermes said. "It's more believable."

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Read Annabeth, so we can finish the book this millennium."

**Confession time: I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal.**

Annabeth face palmed. "Why would he do that? It will put him in more danger."

"Some promise that turned out to be." Hephaestus said.

**I know, I know. It was rude. **

"Very rude." Rachel said.

**But Grover was freaking me out, looking at me like I was a dead man, muttering "Why does this always happen?" and "Why does it always have to be sixth grade?"**

The demigods frowned. "That is so creepy." Piper said.

Poseidon shrugged. "If it was me I would've done the same thing."

"Yes but we've already established that you're just like Percy." Aphrodite said. "Athena proved that right before she called you fish face."

Athena and Poseidon glared at each other and their godly aura emanated off of them strongly. Ares' eyes were on fire more than usual.

"Maybe we should get back to reading." Annabeth said afraid of an all out brawl occurring. Everyone else quickly agreed except Ares who glared at Annabeth. Annabeth shrugged it off and continued reading.

**Whenever he got upset, Grover's bladder acted up, **

Travis was about to say something but then Katie stepped on his toes to stop him and he yelped. When everyone turned to look at him he bit his tongue and shook his head. Chris who sat across from Travis and had seen everything tried hard to contain his laughter.

**so I wasn't surprised when, as soon as we got off the bus, he made me promise to wait for him, then made a beeline for the restroom. Instead of waiting, I got my suitcase, slipped outside, and caught the first taxi uptown.**

**"East One-hundred-and-fourth and First," I told the driver.**

**A word about my mother, before you meet her.**

**Her name is Sally Jackson and she's the best person in the world, **

"Exactly." Thalia said. Annabeth and Nico agreed and Poseidon smiled.

**which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck.**

"What?" Nico asked. He turned to Annabeth.

"I don't know."

**Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five, and she was raised by an uncle who didn't care much about her. She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.**

"Wow." Hermes said.

"Poseidon, why didn't you help her?" Aphrodite asked.

"I tried to but she wouldn't let me." Poseidon answered. "She always denied my gifts. Always wanted to do everything for herself."

**The only good break she ever got was meeting my dad.**

"EEEEK!"

Everybody literally jumped out of their seats.

"THAT is SO _cute!_" Aphrodite shrieked.

"Aphrodite, sweetie," Ares said. "Maybe you should tone it down a bit."

"Preferably _before_, we all go deaf." Hephaestus muttered.

Leo turned to Piper. "You are almost nothing like your mom." Piper shrugged.

**I don't have memories of him, just this sort of warm glow, maybe the barest trace of his smile.**

Poseidon smiled. He had visited Percy once when Sally was out.

**My mom doesn't like to talk about him because it makes her sad. She has no pictures.**

Hermes gaped. "It sounds like she still likes you Poseidon."

Chris raised an eyebrow. "What's so bad about that?"

"Well," Apollo started. "Most of the girls we get together with either hate us at the end of the relationship or just don't feel anything."

"But it sounds like she still likes you." Hermes repeated.

Poseidon just smiled smugly, "All my secrets stay with me."

**See, they weren't married. She told me he was rich and important, and their relationship was a secret. Then one day, he set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey, and he never came back.**

**Lost at sea, my mom told me. Not dead. Lost at sea.**

"Well I guess it's not technically a lie." Annabeth stated. "But it's not the truth either."

**She worked odd jobs, took night classes to get her high school diploma, and raised me on her own. She never complained or got mad. Not even once. But I knew I wasn't an easy kid.**

"That," Thalia said. "Is an understatement."

"Yeah," Nico said. "When has Percy ever done the easy thing?"

"We all know he certainly doesn't like easy." Conner said waggling his eyebrows and pointing his elbow in Annabeth's direction.

All the demigods laughed except for Jason, Piper, and Leo. They all new Annabeth was his girlfriend but they didn't understand the joke. Annabeth kept her blush down.

"What do you mean he doesn't like easy?" Athena asked. She didn't get the joke. (Thankfully.)

Aphrodite gasped. "He has a crush on someone doesn't he?" She didn't get this joke either.

This shut the demigods right up.

"Umm…" Thalia said. "Annabeth, why don't you read?"

**Finally, she married Gabe Ugliano,**

Poseidon narrowed his eyes at this.

**who was nice for the first thirty seconds we knew him, then showed his true colors as a world-class jerk. **

"Then why would she marry him?" Artemis asked outraged. Athena agreed.

Nobody had an answer.

**When I was young, I nicknamed him Smelly Gabe. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. The guy reeked like moldy garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts.**

"Gross." Piper wrinkled her nose.

**Between the two of us, we made my mom's life pretty hard. The way Smelly Gabe treated her, the way he and I got along . . . well, when I came home is a good example.**

**I walked into our little apartment, hoping my mom would be home from work. Instead, Smelly Gabe was in the living room, playing poker with his buddies. The television blared ESPN. Chips and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet.**

"That is a live pigsty." Leo said. "I only know the description from the book, but I'm pretty sure I've slept in better places than that."

**Hardly looking up, he said around his cigar, "So, you're home."**

**"Where's my mom?"**

**"Working," he said. "You got any cash?"**

"That's it?" Jason said incredulously. "_You got any cash?_"

"What kind of person does that?" Piper said.

"A b-."

"Language Nico!"

"Jeez, Thalia. It's not like I was going to curse."

"Nico, I know you and there's not that many curse words that start with b."

"Oh, and how would you know that?"

"Shut up."

**That was it. No **_**Welcome back. Good to see you. How has your life been the last six months?**_

**Gabe had put on weight. He looked like a tuskless walrus in a thrift-store clothes. He had about three hairs on his head, all combed over his bald scalp, as if that made him handsome or something.**

Aphrodite shivered at this description.

**He managed the Electronics Mega-Mart in Queens, but he stayed home most of the time. I don't know why he hadn't been fired long before. He just kept on collecting paychecks, spending the money on cigars that made me nauseous, and on beer, of course. Always beer. Whenever I was home, he expected me to provide his gambling funds. He called that our "guy secret." Meaning, if I told my mom, he would punch my lights out.**

Poseidon growled and got up.

"Where are you going Poseidon?" Hephaestus asked.

"To have a _talk _with _Gabe_." He said the word Gabe like it was the most disgusting thing in the world.

"Oh, please Poseidon," Dionysus said. "Stop being so over protective. If Gabe isn't resolved by the end of the book then you can go and _talk_ to him."

Poseidon glared at Dionysus- which made him shiver- and then sat down.

"Read Annabeth." Poseidon commanded through gritted teeth.

**"I don't have any cash," I told him.**

**He raised a greasy eyebrow.**

**Gabe could sniff out money like a bloodhound, which was surprising, since his own smell should've covered up everything else.**

This generated a few smiles.

**"You took a taxi from the bus station," he said. "Probably paid with a twenty. Got six, seven bucks in change. Somebody expects to live under this roof, he ought to carry his own weight. Am I right, Eddie?"**

Everyone snorted.

**Eddie, the super of the apartment building, looked at me with a twinge of sympathy. "Come on, Gabe," he said. "The kid just got here."**

"At least someone there has some sense." Aphrodite said. She was completely disgusted by Gabe.

Piper agreed with her mother.

**"Am I**_** right?**_**" Gabe repeated.**

**Eddie scowled into his bowl of pretzels. The other two guys passed gas in harmony.**

All the girls in the room had a look of pure horror on their faces and some of the boys turned green.

Leo and Chris mimicked gagging.

**"Fine," I said. I dug a wad of dollars out of my pocket and threw the money on the table. "I hope you lose."**

"So do we."

"Oh he'll lose alright." Hermes stated. "If I have anything to do with it." He had a look on his face that stopped any one from asking what he meant.

**"Your report card came, brain boy!" he shouted after me. "I wouldn't act so snooty!"**

**I slammed the door to my room, which really wasn't my room. During school months, it was Gabe's "study." **

"I doubt it's anything like a study." Katie said.

"It's probably just another place for Gabe to stink up." Demeter stated.

**He didn't study anything in there except old car magazines, but he loved shoving my stuff in the closet, leaving his muddy boots on my windowsill, and doing his best to make the place smell like his nasty cologne and cigars and stale beer.**

Poseidon's breathing increased heavily.

"Oh stop it, Poseidon." Hades said. When Poseidon glared at him he said in a wavering voice, "You'll get light headed and pass out."

Poseidon stopped glaring at Hades and Annabeth took this as a cue to keep reading.

**I dropped my suitcase on the bed. Home sweet home.**

"He's very sarcastic." Jason said.

"Which is why he's fun to trade insults with when he's mad." Thalia said and Nico agreed.

"You too are so weird." Clarisse said. Thalia and Nico shrugged. "You learn to embrace it after awhile."

**Gabe's smell was almost worse than the nightmares about Mrs. Dodds, or the sound of that old fruit lady's shears snipping the yarn.**

"Wow." Leo said. "He's that bad?"

"Apparently." Hephaestus replied.

**But as soon as I thought that, my legs felt weak. I remembered Grover's look of panic-how he'd made me promise I wouldn't go home without him. A sudden chill rolled through me. I felt like someone-something-was looking for me right now, maybe pounding its way up the stairs, growing long, horrible talons.**

"Why does he have to be so dramatic?" Artemis asked.

"He takes after his dad, remember." Athena answered.

"I'm not dramatic," Poseidon said. "That's Zeus' job."

"Hey! Wait a minute-"

"Then does that mean Poseidon's a pessimist too?" Nico asked innocently.

"Exactly." Hades said.

Poseidon glared at the other gods daring them to say anything but they couldn't meet his eyes.

**Then I heard my mom's voice. "Percy?"**

**She opened the bedroom door, and my fears melted away.**

"Momma's boy." Clarisse rolled her eyes. If Poseidon heard he didn't give any indications.

**My mother can make me feel good just by walking into the room. Her eyes sparkle and change color in the light. Her smile is as warm as a quilt. She's got a few gray streaks mixed in with her long brown hair, but I never think of her as old. When she looks at me, it's like she's been seeing all the good things about me, none of the bad. I've never heard her voice or say an unkind word to anyone, not even me or Gabe.**

"She sounds really nice." Piper said.

**"Oh, Percy." She hugged me tight. "I can't believe it. You've grown since Christmas!"**

**Her red-white-and-blue Sweet on America uniform smelled like the best things in the world: chocolate, licorice, and all the other stuff she sold at the candy shop in Grand Central. She'd brought me a huge bag of "free samples," the way she always did when I came home.**

The Stoll's mouths watered. "Lucky!"

**We sat together on the edge of the bed. While I attacked the blueberry sour strings, she ran her hand through my hair and demanded to know everything I hadn't put in my letters. She didn't mention anything about my getting expelled. She didn't seem to care about that. But was I okay? Was her little boy doing all right?**

"Like I said before. Momma's boy."

**I told her she was smothering me, and to lay off all that, but secretly, I was really, really glad to see her.**

"WE GET IT CLARISSE."

**From the other room, Gabe yelled, "Hey, Sally-how about some bean dip, huh?"**

Poseidon gritted his teeth and Annabeth, Thalia, and Nico scowled.

**I gritted my teeth.**

Everyone rolled their eyes at Poseidon.

**My mom is the nicest lady in the world. She should've been married to a millionaire, not to some jerk like Gabe.**

"Or a god."

**For her sake, I tried to sound upbeat about my last days at Yancy Academy. I told her I wasn't too down about the expulsion. I'd lasted almost the whole year this time. I'd made some new friends. I'd done pretty well in Latin. And honestly, the fights hadn't been as bad as the headmaster said. I liked Yancy Academy. I really did. I put such a good spin on the year, I almost convinced myself. I started choking up, thinking about Grover and Mr. Brunner. Even Nancy Bobofit suddenly didn't seem so bad.**

"It must have been a really good spin then." Chris said.

**Until the trip to the museum . . .**

**"What?" my mom asked. Her eyes tugged at my conscience, trying to pull out the secrets. "Did something scare you?"**

**"No, Mom."**

"Don't lie!" Hermes yelled.

Everyone gasped.

"Y-you just-" Conner stuttered.

"Oh please," Hermes said. "Even you know that this is something that he shouldn't lie about."

**I felt bad lying. I wanted to tell her about Mrs. Dodds and the three old ladies with the yarn, but I thought it would sound stupid.**

"No it wouldn't." Thalia said.

"Yes it would." Nico stated. "Hey mom, the person that I thought was my math teacher is demonic and three old people cut some yarn earlier today. But you know what enough about me, how was your day?"

Everyone snorted. Nico made it sound so silly and ridiculous.

**She pursed her lips. She knew I was holding back, but didn't push me.**

**"I have a surprise for you," she said. "We're going to the beach."**

**My eyes widened. "Montauk?"**

**"Three nights-same cabin."**

**"When?"**

**She smiled. "As soon as I get changed,"**

**I couldn't believe it. My mom and I hadn't been to Montauk the last two summers, because Gabe said there wasn't enough money.**

"He better let them go." Poseidon said.

**Gabe appeared in the doorway and growled, "Bean dip, Sally? Didn't you hear me?"**

Everyone scowled.

**I wanted to punch him, but I met my mom's eyes and I understood she was offering me a deal: be nice to Gabe for a little while. Just until she was ready to leave for Montauk. Then we would get out of here.**

**"I was on my way, honey," she told Gabe. "We were just talking about the trip."**

**Gabe's eyes got small. "The trip? You mean you were serious about that?"**

**"I knew it," I muttered. "He won't let us go."**

**"Of course he will," my mom said evenly. "Your stepfather is just worried about money. That's all. Besides," she added, "Gabriel won't have to settle for bean dip. I'll make him enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. The works."**

Hermes' eyes lit up. "Bribery." He turned to Poseidon. "I like your taste in women."

**Gabe softened a bit. "So this money for your trip . . . it comes out of your clothes budget, right?"**

Aphrodite nearly shrieked. "Her money for her _clothes?_ Why would she even _have _a budget?"

She turned to Poseidon. "When you go have your _talk _with Gabe, take me with you. I want to give him a _talk _of my own."

Poseidon smiled evilly and nodded. Aphrodite huffed and turned to Annabeth who began reading.

**"Yes, honey," my mother said.**

Aphrodite twitched.

**"And you won't take my car anywhere but there and back."**

**"We'll be very careful."**

**Gabe scratched his double chin. "Maybe if you hurry with the seven-layer dip . . . And maybe if the kid apologized for interrupting my poker game."**

**Maybe if I kick you in your soft spot, I thought. And make you sing soprano for a week.**

Everyone doubled over in hysterics while Clarisse and Ares chanted, "Do it!"

**But my mom's eyes warned me not to make him mad.**

**Why did she put up with this guy? I wanted to scream. Why did she care what he thought?**

"Exactly."

"**I'm sorry," I muttered. "I'm really sorry I interrupted your incredibly important poker game. Please go back to it right now."**

**Gabe's eyes narrowed. His tiny brain was probably trying to detect sarcasm in my statement.**

Thalia and Nico smirked at this.

"I told you he was fun to trade sarcastic comments with." Thalia said to Clarisse and Jason. They shrugged.

**"Yeah, whatever," he decided.**

**He went back to his game.**

"Finally."

**"Thank you, Percy," my mom said. "Once we get to Montauk, we'll talk more about . . . whatever you've forgotten to tell me, okay?"**

**For a moment, I thought I saw anxiety in her eyes-the same fear I'd seen in Grover during the bus ride-as if my mom too felt an odd chill in the air.**

**But then her smile returned, and I figured I must have been mistaken. She ruffled my hair and went to make Gabe his seven-layer dip.**

**An hour later we were ready to leave.**

**Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch me lug my mom's bags to the car, he kept griping and groaning about losing her cooking-and more important, his '78 Camaro- for the whole weekend.**

"More. Important." Aphrodite said through gritted teeth. Before she could start her rant Annabeth started reading.

**"Not a scratch on this car, brain boy," he warned me as I loaded the last bag. "Not one little scratch."**

"But he won't be driving?" Dionysus said. "He's not even drunk the proper amount to make a scratch on that car."

"Oh," Zeus said. "And how would you know the proper amount to be drunk to drive?"

"Umm… A god's intuition?"

"Uh-huh." Zeus said but he wasn't buying it.

**Like I'd be the one driving. I was twelve. But that didn't matter to Gabe. If a seagull so much as pooped on his paint job, he'd find a way to blame me.**

**Watching him lumber back toward the apartment building, I got so mad I did something I can't explain. As Gabe reached the doorway, I made the hand gesture I'd seen Grover make on the bus, a sort of warding-of-evil gesture, a clawed hand over my heart, then a shoving movement toward Gabe. The screen door slammed shut so hard it whacked him in the butt and sent him flying up the staircase as if he'd been shot from a cannon.**

"How'd he do that?" Demeter asked.

"Who cares!" Ares yelled. "Gabe got packed!"

The demigods smiled along with Ares.

**Maybe it was just the wind, or some freak accident with the hinges, but I didn't stay long enough to find out.**

**I got in the Camaro and told my mom to step on it.**

**Our rental cabin was on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It was a little pastel box with faded curtains, half sunken into the dunes. There was always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets,**

At this Athena and Annabeth shivered. Everybody else rolled their eyes at them.

**and most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in.**

"Why does he care if the sea is too cold to swim in?" Leo asked. "Shouldn't he still like that?"

**I loved the place.**

"Oh."

**We'd been going there since I was a baby. My mom had been going even longer. She never exactly said, but I knew why the beach was special to her. It was the place where she'd met my dad.**

Poseidon smiled.

**As we got closer to Montauk, she seemed to grow younger, years of worry and work disappearing from her face. Her eyes turned the color of the sea.**

"It's like her life force is the sea." Artemis stated.

**We got there at sunset, opened all the cabin's windows, and went through our usual cleaning routine. We walked on the beach, fed blue corn chips to the seagulls, and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all the other free samples my mom had brought from work.**

"What's with all the blue food." Zeus asked. "That's my color. You'd think it'd be green."

"Go figure," Thalia said. "Percy's weird like that."

**I guess I should explain the blue food.**

"Yes."

**See, Gabe had once told my mom there was no such thing. They had this fight, which seemed like a really small thing at the time. But ever since, my mom went out of her way to eat blue. She baked blue birthday cakes. She mixed blueberry smoothies. She brought blue-corn tortilla chips and brought home blue candy from the shop. This-along with keeping her maiden name, Jackson, rather than calling herself Mrs. Ugliano**

"Who would want to do that?" Demeter said. "I mean what kind of name is that?"

"I think that it's great that she's doing that." Aphrodite said. She still hated Gabe after he had made Sally use money from her _clothes budget._

**-was proof she wasn't totally suckered by Gabe. She did have a rebellious streak like me.**

"Streak! Percy doesn't have a rebellious streak." Nico said.

"Oh no, it's bigger than that." Thalia agreed.

"I don't remember the last time he listened to someone." Connor stated.

"Yeah. Except for certain people that don't do easy." Travis grinned.

Some of the demigods snickered and Annabeth had to gather all her will power so she wouldn't blush.

"What are you guys talking about?" Poseidon asked.

"Seriously. That's the second time you've made that joke." Hermes said.

Chris-who managed to control his self said, "Read Annabeth."

**When it got dark, we made a fire. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Mom told me stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash. She told me about the books she wanted to write someday, when she had enough money to quit the candy shop.**

**Eventually, I got up the nerve to ask about what was always on my mind whenever we came to Montauk-my father.**

**Mom's eyes went all misty. I figured she would tell me the same things she always did, but I never got tired of hearing them.**

**"He was kind, Percy," she said. "Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, too. You have his black hair, you know, and his green eyes."**

Jason, Piper, and Leo turned to look at Poseidon and Leo said, "Oh. That's how he looks like."

The other demigods nodded.

**Mom fished a blue jelly bean out of her candy bag. **

"Does he relate everything to the water? I mean he said his mom _fished_ a jelly bean out of her bag." Artemis stated.

"Well we did say he was weird." Thalia replied.

**"I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud."**

**I wondered how she could say that. What was so great about me?**

"A lot." Poseidon said.

**A dyslexic, hyperactive boy with D+ report card, kicked out of school for the sixth time in six years.**

**"How old was I?" I asked. "I mean . . . when he left?"**

**She watched the flames. "He was only with me for one summer, Percy. Right here at this beach. This cabin."**

**"But . . . he knew me as a baby."**

**"No, honey. He knew I was expecting a baby, but he never saw you. He had to leave before you were born."**

**I tried to square that with the fact that I seemed to remember . . . something about my father. A warm glow. A smile.**

**I have always assumed he knew me as a baby. My mom had never said it outright, but still. I'd felt it must be true. Now, to be told that he'd never seen me . . .**

**I felt angry at my father. Maybe it was stupid, but I resented him for going on that ocean voyage, for not having the guts to marry my mom. He'd left us, and now we were stuck with Smelly Gabe.**

At this Poseidon smiled sadly.

**"Are you going to send me away again?" I asked her. "To another boarding school?"**

**She pulled a marshmallow from the fire.**

**"I don't know, honey." Her voice was heavy. "I think . . . I think we'll have to do something."**

**"Because you don't want me around?" **

"Don't say that!" Rachel said.

**I regretted the words as soon as they were out.**

"Good."

**My mom's eyes welled with tears. She took my hand, squeezed it tight. "Oh, Percy, no. I-I **_**have**_** to, honey. For your own good. I have to send you away."**

**Her words reminded me of what Mr. Brunner had said-that it was the best for me to leave Yancy.**

**"Because I'm not normal," I said.**

**"You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are. I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I thought you'd finally be safe."**

**"Safe from what?"**

**She met my eyes, and a flood of memories came back to me-all the weird, scary things that had ever happened to me, some of which I'd tried to forget.**

**During third grade, a man in a black trench coat had stalked me on the playground. When the teachers threatened to call the police, he went away growling, but no one believed me when I told them that under is broad-brimmed hat, the man only had one eye, right in the middle of his head.**

"Why would your child be stalking Percy?" Zeus asked Poseidon.

"I probably sent him there to make sure Percy was safe."

**Before that-a really early memory. I was in preschool, and a teacher accidentally put me down for a nap in a cot that a snake had slithered into. My mom screamed when she came to pick me up and found me playing with a limp, scaly rope I'd somehow managed to strangle to death with my meaty toddler hands.**

...

"Wow."

"Impressive."

**In every single school, something creepy had happened, something unsafe, and I was forced to move.**

**I knew I should tell my mom about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds at the art museum, about my weird hallucination that I had sliced my math teacher into dust with a sword. **

"Yes."

**But I couldn't make myself to tell her. I had a strange feeling the news would end our trip to Montauk, and I didn't want that.**

"Yes, yes. So risk your safety just to stay at the place where mommy met daddy." Athena said her voice oozing with sarcasm. The demigods however knew where Percy was coming from and they weren't sure what they would've done if it were them.

**"I've tried to keep you as close to me as I could," my mom said. "They told me that was a mistake. But there's only one other option, Percy-the place your father wanted to send you. And I just . . . I just can't stand to do it."**

**"My father wanted me to go to a special school?"**

**"Not a school," she said softly. "A summer camp."**

"The best place in the world." Chris said. Everyone else agreed.

Jason shrugged. "I could argue against that."

"Whatever."

**My head was spinning. Why would my dad-who hadn't even stayed around long enough to see me born-talk to my mom about a summer camp? And if it was so important, why hadn't she ever mentioned it before?**

"That does sound weird doesn't it?" Nico said.

**I'm sorry, Percy," she said, seeing the look in my eyes. "But I can't talk about it. I-I couldn't send you to that place. It might mean saying good-bye to you for good."**

**"For good? But if it's only a summer camp . . ."**

**She turned toward the fire, and I knew from her expression that if I asked any more questions she would start to cry.**

**That night I had a vivid dream.**

**It was storming on the beach, and two beautiful animals, a white horse and a golden eagle, were trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf.**

"First you two were mad," Demeter stated. "Now you're trying to kill each other. Will this ever end?"

**The eagle swooped down and slashed the horse's muzzle with its huge talons. The horse reared up and kicked at the eagle's wings. As they fought, the ground rumbled, and a monstrous voice chuckled somewhere beneath the earth, goading the animals to fight harder.**

Everyone turned to Hades who shrugged. "I don't know what I'm up to in the future."

**I ran toward them, knowing I had to stop them from killing each other, but I was running in slow motion. I knew I would be too late. I saw the eagle dive down, its beak aimed at the horse's wide eyes, and I screamed, **_**No!**_

Zeus shot up from his throne and pointed at Poseidon. "Ha, sucker! I win!" When he finished thunder rolled above and lightning crackled in the air.

After Zeus sat down Poseidon addressed everyone. "Told you he was dramatic."

Everyone rolled their eyes and Zeus huffed.

**I woke with a start.**

**Outside, it really was storming, the kind of storm that cracks trees and blows down houses. There was no horse or eagle on the beach, just lightning making false daylight, and twenty-foot waves pounding the dunes like artillery.**

"Somebody's angry." Ares sang with delight.

**With the next thunderclap, my mom woke. She sat up, eyes wide, and said, "Hurricane."**

**I knew that was crazy. Long Island never sees hurricanes this early in the summer. But the ocean seemed to have forgotten. **

"Yes Poseidon, why have you forgotten?" Hermes asked.

**Over the roar of the wind, I heard a distant bellow, an angry, tortured sound that made my hair stand on end.**

**Then a much closer noise, like mallets in the sand. A desperate voice-someone yelling, pounding on our cabin door.**

**My mother sprang out of bed in her nightgown and threw open the lock.**

**Grover stood framed in the doorway against a backdrop of pouring rain. But he wasn't . . . he wasn't exactly Grover.**

"Then… What was he?" Connor asked his eyes bugged out.

Travis threw his hands in the air. "What abomination did our dear Grover turn into?"

Everyone rolled their eyes at the two.

**"Searching all night," he gasped. "What were you thinking?"**

**My mother looked at me in terror-not scared of Grover, but of why he'd come.**

**"Percy," she said, shouting to be heard over the rain. "What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?"**

**I was frozen, looking at Grover. I couldn't understand what I was seeing.**

_**"O Zeu kai alloi theoi!"**_**he yelled. "It's right behind me! Didn't you tell her?"**

**I was too shocked to register that he'd just cursed in Ancient Greek, and I'd understood him perfectly. I was too shocked to wonder how Grover had gotten here by himself in the middle of the night. Because Grover didn't have his pants on-and where his legs should be . . . where his legs should be . . .**

"Were what?" Connor screamed. "Come on Percy. Out with it!"

"Connor." Annabeth said. "You're speaking to a book."

"Oh. Right."

**My mom looked at me sternly and talked in a tone she'd never used before: **_**"Percy.**_** Tell me **_**now!"**_

**I stammered something about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds, and my mom stared at me, her face deathly pale in the flashes of lightning.**

**She grabbed her purse, tossed me my rain jacket, and said, "Get to the car. Both of you. **_**Go!"**_

**Grover ran for the Camaro-but he wasn't running, exactly. He was trotting, shaking his shaggy hindquarters, and suddenly his story about a muscular disorder in his legs made sense to me. I understood how he could run so fast and still limp when he walked.**

**Because where his feet should be, there were no feet.**

**There were cloven hooves.**

Annabeth sighed. "That's it."

Zeus looked outside to see how dark it was. "Why don't we continue tomorrow? It's getting late."

The other gods agreed. Hermes stood up. "I'll take you guys to your rooms for the night."

Athena took the book from Annabeth and said. "I'll keep this safe for the time being."

* * *

><p><strong>Hoped you liked it. Review. <strong>

**Erudite19.**


	5. Bull Fighting

**Special thanks to MusingTurtle who wrote an awesome review. Not that the others weren't great too. Anyway here's chapter 5.**

* * *

><p>Annabeth woke up that morning feeling a little down. She knew that they would have to read about Percy's adventures today. She missed him a lot.<p>

She had no idea what he was doing at the Roman Camp or if he even _remembered_ her. For the past couple months all she could think was, _What if he has another girlfriend?_ But she couldn't keep herself down like that because if he didn't have another girlfriend she would have moped around for nothing.

Then she reconsidered her thoughts. If it took Seaweed Brain four years just to admit his feelings for her- if it took four years to get together with him then he couldn't have gotten a girlfriend in just two months. Besides Seaweed Brain was _completely_ oblivious when it came to girls.

With that set in mind she decided that she would take the time to enjoy reading the books with her friends and the gods. If she kept moping around then her friends would understand but the gods would question her. She didn't think she wanted to know what her mom would think if she found out that she and Percy were dating. Plus, it would be better if Percy was there with her when the gods found out.

Not that it would ever happen anyways.

Could it?

She pushed the thought out of her mind and got ready for the day. She got up and walked to the kitchen. Last night before they had all gone to bed Hermes had given them a tour of where they would be staying. The place was built like a mansion and had too many rooms to count in it. Each room was different whether it was a game room or a bathroom or an arena-it's that big. After she got something to eat she met the other demigods in the throne room who were sitting around talking about the book. When she came in everyone turned towards her.

"Hey, Annabeth."

"Hi."

"Were just waiting for Chris and Nico." Thalia said. As if on cue the two walked in talking about Mythomagic.

They separated and Nico sat next to Thalia while Chris sat next to Clarisse. Annabeth took a seat on the other side of Thalia. They sat there talking for about ten minutes before the gods flashed in and said their greetings.

Athena held out the book once everyone had sat down. "Who's going to read today?"

"I'll read." Travis said.

When everyone turned to him to see if he was kidding or not he said, "What? I want to see if Grover ever puts his pants back on."

"Or if he ever enters that body building contest Nico mentioned." Connor agreed.

Athena shook her head at Connor and handed the book to Travis. "You know Nico's explanation was make-believe right?"

"But technically Grover's supposed to be make-believe too." Connor said.

Athena sighed. "Just read Travis."

"**MY MOTHER TEACHES ME BULLFIGHTING" **Travis read.

"That can't be good," Poseidon muttered.

**We tore through the night along dark country roads. Wind slammed against the Camaro. Rain lashed the wind shield. I didn't know how my mom could see anything, but she kept her foot on the gas.**

"I like how she drives." Ares said. "That's exactly what I do when I ride my motorcycle."

"Oh yes," Hephaestus muttered. "And after every ride your motorcycle ends up in my shop and-"

"You end up in my care," Apollo continued. "With multiple cuts and injuries."

"And Aphrodite ranting on and on about how irresponsible you are." Hades added.

"And then," Poseidon finished. "After you get out of the infirmary Aphrodite pulls you aside, smacks you, and then you guys make ou-"

"That's enough Poseidon." Ares interrupted. He glanced at the group on the floor who was snickering and at Aphrodite who was blushing. "Why don't we keep reading?"

**Every time there was a flash of lightning, I looked at Grover sitting next to me in the backseat and I wondered if I'd gone insane, or if he was wearing some kind of shag-carpet pants.**

Connor snorted, "Shag-carpet pants."

Travis turned to Artemis. "Do you have some?"

"Some what?"

"Shag-carpet pants. They sound interesting."

"EXCUSE ME?" Artemis shrieked. "Why would I have shag-carpet pants?"

Travis withered under her glare. "'Cause you're the goddess of the hunt an-and I thought that if you hunted animals that you would m-make some type of clothes out of them."

Artemis sighed and didn't bother to answer that. "Read Travis."

**But, no, the smell was one I remembered from kindergarten field trips to the petting zoo— lanolin, like from wool. The smell of a wet barnyard animal.**

"Not the best smell." Hermes said.

"I know I might regret this," Piper said. "But I'll ask anyway. How do you know that smell?"

"Umm…" Hermes replied. He didn't want them to know the prank he was planning on Artemis and Athena.

**All I could think to say was, "So, you and my mom... know each other?"**

"Of course he would say that." Annabeth said.

"It's Percy, what else would he say?" Rachel mused.

**Grover's eyes flitted to the rear view mirror, though there were no cars behind us. "Not exactly," he said. "I mean, we've never met in person. But she knew I was watching you."**

**"Watching me?"**

"He makes it sound like he's a stalker." Leo stated.

"In a way," Nico grimaced. "They kind of are."

**"Keeping tabs on you. Making sure you were okay. But I wasn't faking being your friend," he added hastily. "I **_**am **_**your friend."**

**"Urn ... what **_**are **_**you, exactly?"**

**"That doesn't matter right now."**

**"It doesn't matter? From the waist down, my best friend is a donkey—"**

"Donkey!" Leo shouted.

"Grover's not going to like that." Thalia said.

"Well now we have a new nickname for him." Chris mused. "Instead of goat boy we can call him donkey boy."

"Oh yeah." Thalia said her voice oozing sarcasm. "Call the satyr a goat. I'll be right there videotaping you guys when you get trampled."

"Oh."

**Grover let out a sharp, throaty **_**"Blaa-ha-ha!"**_

**I'd heard him make that sound before, but I'd always assumed it was a nervous laugh. Now I realized it was more of an irritated bleat.**

**"Goat!" he cried.**

**"What?"**

**"I'm a **_**goat **_**from the waist down."**

**"You just said it didn't matter."**

_**"Blaa-ha-ha!**_ **There are satyrs who would trample you underhoof for such an insult!"**

"See."

**"Whoa. Wait. Satyrs. You mean like ... Mr. Brunner's myths?"**

**"Were those old ladies at the fruit stand a **_**myth, **_**Percy? Was Mrs. Dodds a myth?"**

**"So you **_**admit **_**there was a Mrs. Dodds!"**

"Ugh, that's not the point." Annabeth said.

**"Of course."**

**"Then why—"**

**"The less you knew, the fewer monsters you'd attract," Grover said, like that should be perfectly obvious. "We put Mist over the humans' eyes. We hoped you'd think the Kindly One was a hallucination. But it was no good. You started to realize who you are."**

**"Who I—wait a minute, what do you mean?"**

**The weird bellowing noise rose up again somewhere behind us, closer than before. Whatever was chasing us was still on our trail.**

Poseidon tensed.

**"Percy," my mom said, "There's too much to explain and not enough time. We have to get you to safety."**

**"Safety from what? Who's after me?"**

**"Oh, nobody much," Grover said, obviously still miffed about the donkey comment. "Just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions."**

Hades huffed. "Why does everyone always assume it's me?"

"Isn't it?" Nico asked.

"So? For all we know it could be Zeus too."

"Yes," Zeus said. "But if anyone accused me I'd just smite them with lightning."

**"Grover!"**

**"Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. Could you drive faster, please?"**

**I tried to wrap my mind around what was happening, but I couldn't do it. I knew this wasn't a dream. I had no imagination. I could never dream up something this weird.**

"Oh yeah you have no imagination." Hermes rolled his eyes. "But apparently magic mushrooms are real."

**My mom made a hard left. We swerved onto a narrower road, racing past darkened farmhouses and wooded hills and PICK YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES signs on white picket fences.**

"There almost there." Piper said. She recognized the strawberry signs.

**"Where are we going?" I asked.**

**"The summer camp I told you about." My mother's voice was tight; she was trying for my sake not to be scared. "The place your father wanted to send you."**

**"The place you didn't want me to go."**

**"Please, dear," my mother begged. "This is hard enough. Try to understand. You're in danger."**

**"Because some old ladies cut yarn."**

"No matter how ridiculous that sounds," Clarisse said. "That's only part of the reason."

**"Those weren't old ladies," Grover said. "Those were the Fates. Do you know what it means—the fact they appeared in front of you? They only do that when you're about to ... when someone's about to die."**

"Don't scare him Grover." Thalia said.

**"Whoa. You said 'you.'"**

**"No I didn't. I said 'someone.'"**

**"You meant 'you.' As in **_**me.**_**"**

**"I meant **_**you, **_**like 'someone.' Not you, **_**you.**_**"**

"What?" Leo said. "I don't get it."

"I think what he means is that when he said you he meant someone not Percy." Jason explained.

"Oh. But that's still kind of confusing."

**"Boys!" my mom said.**

**She pulled the wheel hard to the right, and I got a glimpse of a figure she'd swerved to avoid—a dark fluttering shape now lost behind us in the storm.**

**"What was that?" I asked.**

**"We're almost there," my mother said, ignoring my question.**

"Don't we all ignore him?" Clarisse said.

**"Another mile. Please. Please. Please."**

**I didn't know where **_**there **_**was, but I found myself leaning forward in the car, anticipating, wanting us to arrive.**

Everyone was leaning forward now.

**Outside, nothing but rain and darkness—the kind of empty countryside you get way out on the tip of Long Island. I thought about Mrs. Dodds and the moment when she'd changed into the thing with pointed teeth and leathery wings. My limbs went numb from delayed shock. She really **_**hadn't **_**been human. She'd meant to kill me.**

"No. That's not it at all." Dionysus said. "Zeus needed entertainment and told Hades to send an undead Shakespeare after you. But Hades misunderstood and thought Zeus wanted a fury sent because Zeus is dramatic."

"If that's the case," Demeter said. "Then why does Poseidon look like he wants to strangle Zeus and drown Hades."

Everyone glanced at Poseidon who was glaring intently at Zeus and Hades.

Ares grinned. "Maybe WWIII will happen after all."

Travis who had some sense if not any at all decided to read.

**Then I thought about Mr. Brunner ... and the sword he had thrown me. Before I could ask Grover about that, the hair rose on the back of my neck. There was a blinding flash, a jaw-rattling **_**boom!, **_**and our car exploded.**

"What!" Poseidon shrieked his voice two octaves higher. "What happened?"

**I remember feeling weightless, like I was being crushed, fried, and hosed down all at the same time.**

**I peeled my forehead off the back of the driver's seat and said, "Ow."**

**"Percy!" my mom shouted.**

**"I'm okay..."**

**I tried to shake off the daze. I wasn't dead. The car hadn't really exploded. We'd swerved into a ditch. Our driver's-side doors were wedged in the mud. The roof had cracked open like an eggshell and rain was pouring in.**

**Lightning. **

Poseidon's glare at Zeus greatly increased at this. He was contemplating a hundred different ways to kill an immortal but he decided not to do anything. If he crossed Zeus it would not end well.

**That was the only explanation. We'd been blasted right off the road. Next to me in the backseat was a big motionless lump. "Grover!"**

**He was slumped over, blood trickling from the side of his mouth. I shook his furry hip, thinking, No! Even if you are half barnyard animal, you're my best friend and I don't want you to die!**

"I'm pretty sure that's the weirdest thing that I've ever heard." Leo said.

"Well, it depends on how many weird things you've ever heard." Hermes said.

"Knowing Leo," Jason stated. "Then that must be extremely weird."

**Then he groaned "Food," and I knew there was hope.**

Everyone cracked a smile at this.

**"Percy," my mother said, "we have to ..." Her voice faltered.**

**I looked back. In a flash of lightning, through the mud-spattered rear windshield, I saw a figure lumbering toward us on the shoulder of the road. The sight of it made my skin crawl. It was a dark silhouette of a huge guy, like a football player. He seemed to be holding a blanket over his head. His top half was bulky and fuzzy. His upraised hands made it look like he had horns.**

By this time everyone knew what was happening and was anticipating Percy's arrival to camp.

"Or their actual horns." Annabeth said.

"Percy doesn't catch on that fast." Piper said.

"No." Clarisse said. "If he did, then a lot of things would have happened faster." She glanced at Annabeth.

**I swallowed hard. "Who is—"**

**"Percy," my mother said, deadly serious. "Get out of the car."**

**My mother threw herself against the driver's-side door. It was jammed shut in the mud. I tried mine. Stuck too. I looked up desperately at the hole in the roof. It might've been an exit, but the edges were sizzling and smoking.**

**"Climb out the passenger's side!" my mother told me. "Percy—you have to run. Do you see that big tree?"**

"Oh look," Thalia said. "I'm mentioned."

Leo furrowed his eyebrows. "You were a tree?"

"It's a long story."

Leo didn't know what to say. Thalia had been a tree. Was she his imagination or a tree nymph? No she wasn't. He knew that. Besides she was still fine.

_**"What?"**_

**Another flash of lightning, and through the smoking hole in the roof I saw the tree she meant: a huge, White House Christmas tree-sized pine at the crest of the nearest hill.**

**"That's the property line," my mom said. "Get over that hill and you'll see a big farmhouse down in the valley. Run and don't look back. Yell for help. Don't stop until you reach the door."**

**"Mom, you're coming too."**

**Her face was pale, her eyes as sad as when she looked at the ocean.**

**"No!" I shouted. "You **_**are **_**coming with me. Help me carry Grover."**

Jason sat listening intently to what was going on. Maybe Percy could make it in the roman camp after all. He seemed very loyal.

**"Food!" Grover moaned, a little louder.**

**The man with the blanket on his head **

Athena sighed. "It's not a blanket." Piper was right. Percy was slow.

**kept coming toward us, making his grunting, snorting noises. As he got closer, I realized he **_**couldn't **_**be holding a blanket over his head, **

"Finally."

**because his hands—huge meaty hands—were swinging at his sides. There was no blanket. Meaning the bulky, fuzzy mass that was too big to be his head ... was his head. And the points that looked like horns …**

"The minot-"

"Don't say his name Apollo. Really after three thousand years you'd think he'd know."

"Jeez sis'. Don't have to so mean."

"Don't. Call. Me._ Sis'_."

**"He doesn't want **_**us**_**," my mother told me. "He wants **_**you. **_**Besides, I can't cross the property line."**

**"But..."**

**"We don't have time, Percy. Go. Please."**

**I got mad, then—mad at my mother, at Grover the goat,**

Connor chuckled. "Grover the goat."

"Sounds like a mascot." Travis said.

"That would be on a show on Disney Jr."

"And would talk to little kids."

"And sing corny songs about growing up."

"And-"

"Ok, we get it!" Katie screamed. "Keep reading."

**at the thing with horns that was lumbering toward us slowly and deliberately like, like a bull.**

Everyone sighed.

**I climbed across Grover and pushed the door open into the rain. "We're going together. Come on, Mom."**

**"I told you—"**

**"Mom! I am not leaving you. Help me with Grover."**

**I didn't wait for her answer. I scrambled outside, dragging Grover from the car. He was surprisingly light, but I couldn't have carried him very far if my mom hadn't come to my aid.**

**Together, we draped Grover's arms over our shoulders and started stumbling uphill through wet waist-high grass.**

"You guys don't cut your lawn that often." Demeter ranted. "I should talk to Chiron about that. Maybe my kids could give you lessons on farming…"

"Here she goes again." Hades sighed.

"You get this a lot in the underworld don't you?" Artemis asked.

"You don't know the end of it."

"Umm… no offense and all," Travis said. "But I don't want to learn how to farm."

All the demigods agreed. "Why Travis?" Connor asked. "Aren't you supposed to impress your girlfriends mother? Ow! What was that for?"

Many of the demigods started laughing at this. Apollo, Ares, and Hermes cracked a smile. Athena and Artemis rolled their eyes. Demeter was eyeing Travis again.

Travis replied seething. "She's _not_ my girlfriend."

"Whatever."

Katie was a little disappointed but didn't show it.

**Glancing back, I got my first clear look at the monster. He was seven feet tall, easy, his arms and legs like something from the cover of **_**Muscle Man **_**magazine—bulging biceps and triceps and a bunch of other 'ceps, all stuffed like baseballs under vein-webbed skin. He wore no clothes except under wear**

"What?"

"Why's he wearing underwear?" Chris asked. They all turned to Nico.

"What? Why are you all staring at me?"

"Well don't you have a crazy and stupid explanation for this?" Annabeth asked.

"Not yet." Nico whined. "It takes time to come up with my explanations. It's not like I come up with them on the spot."

"But you do." Thalia replied.

"That's beside the point."

**I mean, bright white Fruit of the Looms**

They all started cracking up at this.

—**which would've looked funny,**

"It sure does now!" Jason said.

"Ooh! Ooh! I got it." They all turned to Nico.

"The minot- I mean the bull man was under a tree cuddled up into a Disney's Princess blanket in Tartarus when-"

"I'm sorry Disney's Princess blanket?" Zeus said.

"Yes." Nico replied. "When Krios, the titan of constellations, showed up and stole his pants. Then Hades called the minot- the bull man to go chase after Percy and he didn't have time to get a new pair of pants so he decided that he was scary enough without the pants and went after Percy."

…

"Nico?"

"Yeah Thals?"

"What is in your _head_? _How_ do you come up with these explanations?"

"Craziness runs in the family." Demeter said glancing at Hades.

"His imagination never ceases to amaze me." Athena muttered. Artemis agreed.

**except that the top half of his body was so scary. Coarse brown hair started at about his belly button and got thicker as it reached his shoulders.**

**His neck was a mass of muscle and fur leading up to his enormous head, which had a snout as long as my arm, snotty nostrils with a gleaming brass ring, cruel black eyes, and horns—enormous black-and-white horns with points you just couldn't get from an electric sharpener.**

"Ugh," Aphrodite wrinkled her nose. "Somebody needs a makeover."

**I recognized the monster, all right. He had been in one of the first stories Mr. Brunner told us. But he couldn't be real.**

**I blinked the rain out of my eyes. "That's—"**

"Don't say his name!"

**"Pasiphae's son," my mother said.**

Athena raised in eyebrow. Poseidon had chosen a very smart lover.

**"I wish I'd known how badly they want to kill you."**

**"But he's the Min—"**

**"Don't say his name," she warned. "Names have power."**

"She knows a lot." Jason said.

"She's clear sighted." Annabeth explained.

**The pine tree was still way too far—a hundred yards uphill at least.**

**I glanced behind me again.**

**The bull-man hunched over our car, looking in the windows—or not looking, exactly. More like snuffling, nuzzling. I wasn't sure why he bothered, since we were only about fifty feet away.**

**"Food?" Grover moaned.**

**"Shhh," I told him. "Mom, what's he doing? Doesn't he see us?"**

**"His sight and hearing are terrible," she said. "He goes by smell. But he'll figure out where we are soon enough."**

**As if on cue, the bull-man bellowed in rage. He picked up Gabe's Camaro by the torn roof, the chassis creaking and groaning. He raised the car over his head and threw it down the road. It slammed into the wet asphalt and skidded in a shower of sparks for about half a mile before coming to a stop. The gas tank exploded.**

_**Not a scratch, **_**I remembered Gabe saying.**

"Oops." Nico snickered.

**Oops.**

"What is the world coming to?" Connor screamed.

"First Thalia and now Nico?" Travis agreed then he gasped. "Who's going to be next? Will it be you?"

Then he pointed a dramatic finger at everyone in the room.

"Or will we be the next victims?" Connor asked worried.

"Oh, please," Piper said. "Just read Travis."

**"Percy," my mom said. "When he sees us, he'll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way— directly sideways. He can't change directions very well once he's charging. Do you understand?"**

"I'm surprised Poseidon." Athena said.

"And why is that?"

"You picked a very smart person to be with."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Figure it out."

**"How do you know all this?"**

**"I've been worried about an attack for a long time. I should have expected this. I was selfish, keeping you near me."**

All the half-bloods sighed.

**"Keeping me near you? But—"**

**Another bellow of rage, and the bull-man started tromping uphill.**

**He'd smelled us.**

"NO!" The tension of the room increased.

**The pine tree was only a few more yards, but the hill was getting steeper and slicker, and Grover wasn't getting any lighter. The bull-man closed in. Another few seconds and he'd be on top of us. My mother must've been exhausted, but she shouldered Grover. "Go, Percy! Separate! Remember what I said."**

"This is a plan for disaster." Rachel said.

"Well you're not helping it!" Poseidon replied.

**I didn't want to split up, but I had the feeling she was right—it was our only chance. I sprinted to the left, turned, and saw the creature bearing down on me. His black eyes glowed with hate. He reeked like rotten meat.**

Everybody wrinkled their noses.

**He lowered his head and charged, those razor-sharp horns aimed straight at my chest.**

The tension in the air was evident right now. Poseidon looked like he was going to explode into a puddle of water any time soon.

Literally.

**The fear in my stomach made me want to bolt, but that wouldn't work. I could never outrun this thing.**

**So I held my ground, and at the last moment, I jumped to the side.**

**The bull-man stormed past like a freight train, then bellowed with frustration and turned, but not toward me this time, toward my mother, who was setting Grover down in the grass.**

Everyone gasped.

**We'd reached the crest of the hill. Down the other side I could see a valley, just as my mother had said, and the lights of a farmhouse glowing yellow through the rain. But that was half a mile away. We'd never make it.**

"Huh." Chris said. "You were right Nico. Percy really is a pessimist."

"Why wouldn't you believe me?"

"Because all your explanations for everything are ridiculous and stupid."

Nico shrugged. "They still make sense."

Chris leaned into Clarisse and said low enough for only her ears. "He is kind of weird."

"At least he's not brooding right now." Clarisse replied.

**The bull-man grunted, pawing the ground. He kept eying my mother, who was now retreating slowly downhill, back toward the road, trying to lead the monster away from Grover.**

**"Run, Percy!" she told me. "I can't go any farther. Run!"**

**But I just stood there, frozen in fear, as the monster charged her. She tried to sidestep, as she'd told me to do, but the monster had learned his lesson. His hand shot out and grabbed her by the neck as she tried to get away. He lifted her as she struggled, kicking and pummeling the air.**

"No!"

**"Mom!"**

**She caught my eyes, managed to choke out one last word: "Go!"**

**Then, with an angry roar, the monster closed his fists around my mother's neck, and she dissolved before my eyes, melting into light, a shimmering golden form, as if she were a holographic projection. A blinding flash, and she was simply ... gone.**

At this very moment Poseidon _did _burst into a puddle of water.

"Umm… Will he be okay?" Leo asked.

Apollo sighed. "He'll be fine. He can still hear and see what's going on but he's going to be like that until the stress goes away. Percy's mom almost gave him a heart attack."

**"No!"**

**Anger replaced my fear. Newfound strength burned in my limbs—the same rush of energy I'd gotten when Mrs. Dodds grew talons.**

Everyone who knew Percy personally started to smile.

**The bull-man bore down on Grover, who lay helpless in the grass. The monster hunched over, snuffling my best friend, as if he were about to lift Grover up and make him dissolve too.**

**I couldn't allow that.**

Jason had to admit that Percy was brave. He didn't back down from his problems. He could make it at the roman camp. Now all Jason needed was more proof of that.

**I stripped off my red rain jacket.**

"Oh, no." Annabeth said. Another of Percy's insane ideas.

**"Hey!" I screamed, waving the jacket, running to one side of the monster. "Hey, stupid! Ground beef!"**

"Those are one of the worst taunts that I've ever heard." Ares said. He would have said more but he was too caught up in the book. Just like the others. Who knew reading could be so violent?

**"Raaaarrrrr!" The monster turned toward me, shaking his meaty fists.**

**I had an idea**

"Oh no." Thalia, Nico, and Clarisse said. Annabeth grimaced. She had been right.

"Oh come on," Leo said. "His ideas can't be _that _bad."

"You'd be surprised." Annabeth muttered.

—**a stupid idea,**

"Oh." Leo said.

**but better than no idea at all.**

"I guess it makes sense." Jason said.

**I put my back to the big pine tree and waved my red jacket in front of the bull-man, thinking I'd jump out of the way at the last moment.**

**But it didn't happen like that.**

Annabeth sighed. "Does it ever happen like that?"

"Nope." Clarisse said. Annabeth raised an eyebrow at Clarisse. She had been with them at the sea of monsters but not much had happened.

Clarisse sighed. "You'll find out later."

**The bull-man charged too fast, his arms out to grab me whichever way I tried to dodge.**

**Time slowed down.**

**My legs tensed. I couldn't jump sideways, so I leaped straight up, kicking off from the creature's head, using it as a springboard, turning in midair, and landing on his neck.**

**How did I do that?**

"That's what we want to know."

**I didn't have time to figure it out. A millisecond later, the monster's head slammed into the tree and the impact nearly knocked my teeth out.**

"Well thanks for almost knocking me over Percy." Thalia said sarcastically.

"Um… Thalia?"

"I know Jason. I'm talking to a book. Read Travis."

**The bull-man staggered around, trying to shake me. I locked my arms around his horns to keep from being thrown. Thunder and lightning were still going strong. The rain was in my eyes. The smell of rotten meat burned my nostrils.**

"Why do monsters have to be so repulsive?" Aphrodite asked. She did not like the bull man at all.

"Well…" Nico said.

"Never mind that." Katie said afraid of Nico's crazy explanations. "Keep reading Travis."

**The monster shook himself around and bucked like a rodeo bull. He should have just backed up into the tree and smashed me flat, but I was starting to realize that this thing had only one gear: forward.**

"That's good." Piper said.

**Meanwhile, Grover started groaning in the grass. I wanted to yell at him to shut up, but the way I was getting tossed around, if I opened my mouth I'd bite my own tongue off.**

Travis sucked in his teeth. "Not a good feeling either." Connor grimaced.

"What-" Piper started then thought about it. "Never mind."

**"Food!" Grover moaned.**

**The bull-man wheeled toward him, pawed the ground again, and got ready to charge. I thought about how he had squeezed the life out of my mother, made her disappear in a flash of light, and rage filled me like high-octane fuel. I got both hands around one horn and I pulled backward with all my might. The monster tensed, gave a surprised grunt, then—**_**snap!**_

"He must be really protective of her and care about her a lot to do be able to do that." Artemis said. She was surprised at how much Percy cared about his mother. Not many boys did that.

**The bull-man screamed and flung me through the air. I landed flat on my back in the grass. My head smacked against a rock. When I sat up, my vision was blurry, but I had a horn in my hands, a ragged bone weapon the size of a knife.**

"Oh," Nico said. "That's what's in his cabin." He had seen Percy's cabin when they were examining it to find any clues of how he went missing.

**The monster charged.**

**Without thinking, I rolled to one side and came up kneeling. As the monster barreled past, I drove the broken horn straight into his side, right up under his furry rib cage.**

**The bull-man roared in agony. He flailed, clawing at his chest, then began to disintegrate—not like my mother, in a flash of golden light, but like crumbling sand, blown away in chunks by the wind, the same way Mrs. Dodds had burst apart.**

**The monster was gone.**

"That's…really impressive." Ares said. He was amazed at how naturally this all came to Percy.

**The rain had stopped. The storm still rumbled, but only in the distance. I smelled like livestock and my knees were shaking. My head felt like it was splitting open. I was weak and scared and trembling with grief I'd just seen my mother vanish. I wanted to lie down and cry, but there was Grover, needing my help, so I managed to haul him up and stagger down into the valley, toward the lights of the farm house. I was crying, calling for my mother, but I held on to Grover—I wasn't going to let him go.**

Everyone smiled in sympathy for Percy.

**The last thing I remember is collapsing on a wooden porch, looking up at a ceiling fan circling above me, moths flying around a yellow light, and the stern faces of a familiar-looking bearded man and a pretty girl, her blond hair curled like a princess's.**

Annabeth's face went red at this but only the demigods noticed. Some of them snickered.

Artemis turned to Aphrodite. "It must be one of your children."

Aphrodite agreed. "I think he has a crush on her." Poseidon, who had reformed by then rolled his eyes at her.

**They both looked down at me, and the girl said, "He's the one. He must be."**

Aphrodite beamed at this. "Whoever they are I'm going to have fun messing with their love lives."

**"Silence, Annabeth," the man said. "He's still conscious. Bring him inside."**

The gods gasped and looked at Annabeth. "Umm…"

* * *

><p><strong>"I left the cliff hangin'." Quote by Erudite19<strong>

**Annabeth's and the gods' reaction will be in the next chapter. Erudite19**


	6. Horses and Pinochle

**Here's Chapter Six.**

* * *

><p>Silence.<p>

That's all there was for about five minutes. After three minutes, Connor and Travis who had been getting bored, quietly slipped out of the room unseen.

"You know what?" Clarisse said. "Why don't I read?"

She took the book from where Travis had dropped it and opened it to the right page. She was about to read when Demeter, who seemed less shocked about all of this interrupted.

"Wait a minute?" She turned to Annabeth. "Are you and Percy _close_ friends?"

Annabeth was about to open her mouth and say something sly- no doubt about it- when Thalia beat her to it.

"What _exactly _do you mean when you say _close _friends? Do you mean like 'I've been hanging out with him the past couple of days since before we came here or I hardly know what you're like right now' friends?"

A very slick response for Thalia but she and the others could tell that Annabeth didn't want to discuss Percy right now.

"Well… yes." Demeter replied. "That's exactly what I mean."

"So which one is it?" Athena asked, a little alarmed. She definitely didn't want her daughter getting close to that sea spawn.

Annabeth thought it over. Thalia had made a smart decision with her answer because she had said either

A: I hung out with you every day before you came here.

Or

B: I barely know what you're like right now.

She would have to think Thalia for that later. But then if she said that she hardly knew what he was like right now they would ask her questions because she would go on a quest with Percy, and then another, and then get saved by him, and then…

"I hardly know what he's like right now." Annabeth said.

Athena and Poseidon sighed. They didn't want their child to be dating their enemy's child.

"But then, I don't mess with your love lives?" Aphrodite asked.

Before anyone could answer they heard a thumping sound coming from the ceiling.

"What is that?" Zeus asked. Before Nico could give a crazy explanation the ceiling broke and Connor fell out and landing in the middle of the group.

He coughed a couple of times before saying, "Hi everyone. What's up?"

"You were apparently." Thalia replied. Then she looked up. "And so is Travis."

Travis looked down from the vent and grinned. "Sorry bro. Didn't mean to push you. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"I'm coming down!"

"Wait, don't-! Oomph!"

"Sorry bro."

"How did you guys get up there?" Hermes asked.

"We've got some skills." Travis answered. Connor couldn't because he had some missing teeth.

"Hera is going to have a fit when she sees what you two did and I won't be able to explain it." Zeus moaned.

"She will won't she," Apollo grinned. "We'll have to videotape it." He told Hermes.

"But the cameras are being used for the prank remember?" Hermes whispered gesturing to Artemis who was at the time deep in thought.

"Oh yeah. We'll ask Hephaestus for some cameras later."

Clarisse sighed. "I'll start reading."

**"I Play Pinochle With A Horse."** Clarisse read.

**I had weird dreams full of barnyard animals. Most of them wanted to kill me. The rest wanted food.**

"What?" Leo said. "What kind of dream is that?"

Connor put his index finger up and in a _deadly serious_ _expression_ tried to say 'a stupid dream' but since most of his teeth were knocked out from the fall it came out like, "A foofoos feaned."

…

Most people shouted, "What?" While the others cracked up. He made it worse by trying to repeat himself, "Af fad, a foofoos feaned."

"Wow Connor." Leo joked. "What's wrong, baby got his first teeth knocked out?" He asked in an innocent voice.

"Oh fup up." Connor whined in an attempt to say shut up. After about two minutes of laughter, the entire time with Connor pouting, everyone gathered their selves and stopped laughing. Apollo stood up and gave Connor a bottle labeled 'ψεύτικα δόντια'.

"It means 'fake teeth'." Apollo said. "When you drink it, it will help your teeth re-grow but it might take a couple minutes."

Connor opened the bottle and drank some of it. It was grape flavored so it didn't taste bad. After Apollo sat down Clarisse began reading again.

**I must've woken up several times, but what I heard and saw made no sense, so I just passed out again. I remember lying in a soft bed, being spoon-fed something that tasted like buttered-popcorn, only it was pudding. **

"Is that the ambrosia or the nectar?" Piper asked.

"It's hard to tell." Rachel replied. "It tastes different to all demigods."

"Who cares what it is?" Aphrodite said gleefully. When everyone looked towards her she said. "If whoever's taking care of him is a girl I can make her fall in love with him. It will be the Florence Nightingale effect all over again!"

Everyone rolled their eyes at Aphrodite's antics.

"Wait." Leo said. "What's the Florence Nightingown effect?"

"It's Nightingale, Leo." Piper answered. "It's when a nurse falls in love with her patient."

"Oh."

Annabeth mentally face-palmed. The next couple of chapters were going to be _extremely_ embarrassing.

**The girl with curly blond hair hovered over me,**

Then she physically face-palmed. Everyone except Poseidon and Athena smirked at her.

"I don't get it," said Aphrodite. "If I have all of these plans to make you fall in love with Percy then how do you barely know him?"

Before anyone could say anything Clarisse smirked, "Wait. There's more blackmail."

**smirking as she scraped drips off my chin with the spoon.**

"Oh, so you liked that did you Annabeth?" Travis asked wiggling his eyebrows. The others snickered at his comment.

Annabeth crossed her arms and huffed. "Oh, shut up Travis." But her face was beet red and her glare didn't look as bad like that.

**When she saw my eyes open, she asked, "What will happen at the summer solstice?"**

"Why would you think that he knows something?" Thalia asked.

"Well I didn't know him much at the time." Annabeth answered.

**I managed to choke, "What?"**

**She looked around, as if afraid someone would overhear. "What's going on? What was stolen? We've only got a few weeks!"**

Something was stolen, Zeus thought. But what would it be? Why would someone need a deadline for it? What-

"THE LIGHTNING THIEF!" Zeus shrieked. "SOME ONE STOLE MY MASTERBOLT?"

Everyone went completely silent. Some of the gods staring in fear at Zeus. The demigods who knew this shrugged but Jason, Piper, and Leo all had the same thought, _What idiot had a death wish? _

**"I'm sorry," I mumbled, "I don't . . ."**

**Somebody knocked on the door, and the girl quickly filled my mouth with pudding.**

"Whehh fads a vay foo shut vim up." Connor said.

"What?"

"I totally agree with you." Nico said.

"You can understand him?" Jason asked incredulous.

"Yeah, can't you guys?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"He said: 'Well that's a way to shut him up.'"

"Oh."

"Of course only you would be able to understand him Nico." Piper said. "We should have guessed when you started your crazy explanations."

**The next time I woke up, the girl was gone.**

"Aww, he misses you already." Aphrodite said.

Athena mentally slapped herself and Poseidon groaned.

**A husky dude, like a surfer, stood in the corner of the bedroom keeping watch over me. He had blue eyes-at least a dozen of them-on his cheeks, his forehead, the back of his hands.**

**When I finally came around for good, there was nothing weird about my surrounding, except that they were nicer than I was used to. I was sitting in a deck chair on a huge porch, gazing across a meadow at green hills in the distance. The breeze smelled like strawberries.**

**There was a blanket over my legs, a pillow behind my neck. All that was great, but my mouth felt like a scorpion had been using it for a nest. My tongue was dry and nasty and every one of my teeth hurt.**

"I feel that way whenever Apollo says one of his haikus." Artemis stated.

"I feel that way whenever Demeter starts to rant." Hades stated.

"I feel that way all the time." Dionysus stated.

"Why?" Leo asked.

"Well I am the god of wine Lorenzo." Dionysus replied. "I get hung over all the time."

"My names not Lorenzo it's-"

"Yes, yes, I know what your name is Lloyd." Dionysus said impatiently.

"But-"

"Leo," Rachel said. "Just drop it. He does that to everyone."

"Does what Rita?" Dionysus asked. No answer. "Read on Claire."

**On the table next to me was a tall drink. It looked like iced apple juice, with a green straw and a paper parasol stuck through a maraschino cherry.**

I could go for a martini right now, Dionysus thought.

**My hand was so weak. I almost dropped the glass once I got my fingers around it.**

**"Careful," a familiar voice said.**

**Grover was leaning against the porch railing, looking like he hadn't slept in a week.**

**Under one arm, he cradled a shoe box. He was wearing blue jeans, Converse hi-tops and a bright orange T-shirt that said ****CAMP HALF-BLOOD****. Just plain old Grover. Not the goat boy.**

Chris chuckled. Thalia mimicked holding a camera.

**So maybe I'd had a nightmare. Maybe my mom was okay. We were still on vacation, and we'd stopped here at this big house for some reason. And . . .**

Poseidon sighed.

**"You saved my life," Grover said. "I . . . well, the least I could do . . . I went back to the hill. I thought you might want this."**

**Reverently, he placed the shoe box in my lap.**

**Inside was a black-and-white bull's horn, the base jagged from being broken off, the tip splattered with dried blood. It hadn't been a nightmare.**

**"The Minotaur," I said.**

**"Um, Percy, it isn't a good idea-"**

**"That's what they call him in the Greek myths, isn't it?" I demanded. "The Minotaur, Half man, half bull."**

**Grover shifted uncomfortably. "You've been out for two days. How much do you remember?"**

**"My mom. Is she really . . ."**

**He looked down.**

**I stared across the meadow. There were groves of trees, a winding stream, acres of strawberries spread out under the blue sky. The valley was surrounded by rolling hills, and the tallest one, directly in front of us, was the one with the huge pine tree on top. Even that looked beautiful in the sunlight.**

"What's that supposed to mean?" Thalia questioned. No one dared answered her.

**My mother was gone. The whole world should be black and cold. Nothing should look beautiful.**

"Wow." Katie said. "Percy can be deep when he wants to."

**"I'm sorry," Grover sniffled. "I'm a failure. I'm-I'm the worst satyr in the world."**

"Yes, you are." Zeus huffed.

"Um, dad?"

"I know Thalia." Zeus whined.

**He moaned, stomping his foot so hard it came off. I mean, the Converse hi-top came off. The inside was filled with Styrofoam, except for a hoof-shaped hole.**

**"Oh, Styx!" he mumbled.**

"What does that mean?" Rachel asked.

Everyone looked at Nico who shrugged. "I'm not an expert on bad words. Thalia is."

When everyone looked at her she sighed. "It's a substitution for 'Oh, s***'"

"Oh."

**Thunder rolled across the clear sky.**

**As he struggled to get his hoof back in the fake foot, I thought, Well, that settles it.**

**Grover was a satyr. I was ready to bet that if I shaved his curly brown hair, I'd find tiny horns on his head. But I was too miserable to care that satyrs existed, or even minotaurs.**

**All that meant was my mom had been squeezed into nothingness, dissolved into yellow light.**

Suddenly the sun's light wasn't as warm as it used to be.

**I was alone. An orphan. I would have to live with . . . Smelly Gabe? **

Aphrodite snorted.

**No. That would never happen. I would live on the streets fist. I would pretend I was seventeen and join the army. **

Ares scoffed. "Like that would ever happen. How do you pass off a twelve year old as a seventeen year old?"

"You can steal one of Medea's potions." Jason suggested.

"Why steal?" Clarisse questioned.

"Because you do _not _want to buy one." Piper said and Leo agreed.

"Medea's not even alive anymore." Athena said. "That was thousands of years ago."

The demigods smirked inwardly.

"If she was alive," Rachel said. "How would you even get the potion?"

"Well," Nico snorted. "We could get Apollo drunk."

"But that want solve anything." Hermes complained. "Except make Apollo drunk." Apollo nodded.

"Yeah," Nico said. "But then the aura around him will brighten up. All we need to do is get him next to Medea and she'll be blinded by his light long enough for us to take the potion."

"Nico," Hermes said with a slight smile on his face. "Have you ever seen Apollo drunk?"

"He gets as peppy as a high school cheerleader." Hades grumbled. "He practically ruins my mood."

"Oh yeah. One time he was so drunk he asked Aphrodite for a cheerleader's outfit and he put his hair in pony tails and pranced around the throne room, yelling and cheering." Ares said.

"Guys!" Apollo protested.

"I think I videotaped it." Hephaestus said. "I'll show you guys later."

The demigods on the floor shivered. This was almost as bad as imagining Apollo in bell-bottom pants singing "Stayin' Alive."

"No, no, I think were good." Katie said.

**I'd do something.**

**Grover was still sniffling. The poor kid-poor goat, satyr, whatever**

"Wow, real considerate Percy." Chris said.

**-looked as if he expected to be hit.**

**I said, "It wasn't your fault."**

**"Yes, it was. I was supposed to **_**protect**_** you."**

**"Did my mother ask you to protect me?"**

**"No. But that's my job. I'm a keeper. At least . . . I was. Don't strain yourself," Grover said. "Here."**

**He helped me hold my glass and put the straw to my lips.**

**I recoiled at the taste, because I was expecting apple juice. It wasn't that at all. It was my chocolate-chip cookies. Liquid cookies. And not just any cookies-but my mom's homemade blue chocolate-chip cookies, buttery and hot, with the ships still melting. **

"Wow." Piper said. "That's the exact opposite of what I taste."

**Drinking it, my whole body felt warm and good, full of energy. My grief didn't go away, but I felt as if my mom had just brushed her hand against my cheek, given me a cookie the way she used to when I was small, and told me everything was going to be okay.**

The demigods smiled.

**Before I knew it, I'd drained the glass. I stared into it, sure I'd just had a warm drink, but the ice cubes hadn't even melted.**

**"Was it good?" Grover asked.**

**I nodded.**

**"What did it taste like?" He sounded so wistful, I felt guilty.**

**"Sorry," I said. "I should've let you taste."**

**His eyes got wide. "No! That's not what I meant. I just . . . wondered."**

**"Chocolate-chip cookies," I said. "My mom's. Homemade."**

**He sighed. "And how do you feel?"**

**"Like I could throw Nancy Bobofit a hundred yards."**

"Is that good?" Jason asked.

"For Percy, probably." Annabeth answered. "For Nancy, no."

**"That's good," He said. "That's good, I don't think you could risk drinking any more of that stuff."**

**"What do you mean?"**

**He took the empty glass from me gingerly, as if it were dynamite, and set it back on the table. "Come on. Chiron and Mr. D are waiting."**

**The porch wrapped all the way around the farmhouse.**

**My legs felt wobbly, trying to walk that far. Grover offered to carry the Minotaur horn, but I held on to it. I'd paid for that souvenir the hard way. I wasn't going to let it go.**

**As we came around the opposite end of the house, I caught my breath.**

**We must've been on the north shore of Long Island, because on this side of the house, the valley marched all the way up to the water, which glittered about a mile in the distance. Between here and there, I simply couldn't process everything I was seeing. The landscape was dotted with buildings that looked like ancient Greek architecture**

"Because it is." Annabeth said thinking about her new designs.

**-an open-air pavilion, and amphitheater, a circular arena- except that they all looked brand new, their white marble columns sparkling in the sun. In a nearby sandpit, a dozen high school-age kids and satyrs played volleyball. Canoes glided across a small lake. Kids in bright orange T-shirts like Grover's were chasing each other around a cluster of cabins nestled in the woods. Some shot targets at an archery range. Others rode horses down a wooded trail, and, unless I was hallucinating, some of their horses had wings.**

**Down at the end of the porch, two men sat across from each other at a card table. The blond-haired girl who'd spoon-fed me popcorn-flavored pudding was leaning on the porch rail next to them.**

Connor whispered into Nico's ear.

"Connor says: My, my, Annabeth," Nico said. "What are you doing there?"

Annabeth turned to Connor. "If you don't shut up, I'm going to knock out the rest of your teeth."

**The man facing me was small, but porky. He had a red nose, big watery eyes, and curly hairs so black it was almost purple. He looked like those paintings of baby angels-what do you call them, hubbubs? No, cherubs. That's it. He looked like a cherub who'd turn middle-aged in a trailer park. **

"EXCUSE ME?" Dionysus roared. Everyone suppressed their laughter.

**He wore a tiger-pattern Hawaiian shirt, and he would've fit right in one of Gabe's poker party, except I got the feeling this guy could've out-gambled even my step father.**

"Exactly." Dionyssus replied seethingly.

**"That's Mr. D." Grover murmured to me. "He's the camp director. Be polite.**

**The girl, that's Annabeth Chase. She's just a camper,**

Annabeth raised an eyebrow at this.

**but she's been here longer than just about anybody.**

Clarisse scoffed. "Nine years is a long time."

**And you already know Chiron . . ."**

**He pointed at the guy whose back was to me.**

**First, I realized he was sitting in the wheelchair. Then I recognized the tweed jacket, the thinning brown hair, the scraggly beard.**

**"Mr. Brunner!" I cried.**

**The Latin teacher turned and smiled at me. His eyes had that mischievous glint they sometimes got in class when he pulled a pop quiz and made all the multiple choice B.**

"Only Chiron would do that." Rachel smiled.

**"Ah, good, Percy. Now we have four for pinochle."**

**He offered me a chair to the right of Mr. D, who looked at me with bloodshot eyes and heaved a great sigh.**

Just like he was doing now.

**"Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be glad to see you."**

**"Uh, thanks." I scooted a little farther away from him because, if there was something I had learned from living with Gabe, it as how to tell when an adult had been hitting the happy juice. **

Dionysus sighed contentedly.

**If Mr. D was a stranger to alcohol, I was a satyr.**

"Are you a satyr?" Hermes asked Dionysus.

"Does it look like I have mountain goat legs?" Dionysus answered.

"Well there was that one time we caught you shaving your legs and gnawing a can." Hades said.

"That was one time!" Dionysus yelled. "Once. When a spell backfired on me. You know that."

"Yeah. Sure." Apollo said.

"At least I don't go up to girls saying 'Hey, I'm god of the sun. I'll brighten up your day any day.'"

"Wow, Apollo. Really." Zeus said.

"Your one to talk," Hades said. "You get a woman's attention by making thunder and lightning. Not even a single pickup line in that head of yours."

**"Annabeth?" Mr. Brunner called to the blond girl.**

Aphrodite turned to Dionysus. "If you scare her off I'm going to whack you in the head with my stiletto again."

**She came forward and Mr. Brunner introduced us.**

**"This young lady nursed you back to health, Percy. Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now."**

**Annabeth said, "Sure, Chiron."**

**She was probably my age, maybe a couple of inches taller, and a whole lot more athletic looking. With her deep tan and her curly blond hair, she was almost exactly what I thought a stereotypical California girl would look like, **

Annabeth's blush got bigger at this.

**except her eyes ruined the image.**

It soon faded after this. "Ruined the image? What does that mean?"

"It means," Nico started. "That your eyes are giant black holes that suck up your face and that lead down to Tartarus where you can see the minotaur under the tree and Krios trying on his pants, which are by the way six sizes too big." He turned to Aphrodite. "By the way, Charybdis says she wants you to remove her braces and Scylla says she wants a makeover."

Clarisse shook her head at Nico. "Where do you get all of this?"

Nico shrugged. "I have my connections."

"I'll consider Charybdis not Scylla. When you're ugly for a long time there's no fixing it." Aphrodite answered.

"I'm going to ignore that comment Nico." Annabeth said.

**They were startling gray, like storm clouds; pretty, but intimidating, too, as if she were analyzing the best way to take me down in a fight.**

Annabeth smiled inwardly.

Aphrodite shrieked. "I'm probably already getting to work with you two."

Annabeth blushed. Athena started thinking of ways to bribe Aphrodite.

**She glanced at the minotaur horn in my hands, then back at me. I imagined she was going to say, **_**You killed a minotaur! or Wow, you're so awesome! or something like that.**_

"Like you would say that." Thalia scoffed.

**Instead she said, "You drool when you sleep."**

Thalia grinned. "That's all you could think of to say?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "And what else was I supposed to say? What he was thinking?"

**Then she sprinted off down the lawn, her blond hair flying behind her.**

"Oooh! He has a crush!" Aphrodite said. "This just makes my job easier."

Everyone rolled their eyes at her.

**"So," I said, anxious to change the subject, "You, uh, work here, Mr. Brunner?"**

**"Not Mr. Brunner," the ex-Mr. Brunner said. "I'm afraid that was a pseudonym. You may call me Chiron."**

**"Okay." Totally confused, I looked at the director. "And Mr. D . . . does that stand for something?"**

**Mr. D stopped shuffling the cards. He looked at me like I'd just belched loudly. "Young man, names are powerful things. You don't just go around using them for no reason."**

**"Oh. Right, Sorry."**

**"I must say, Percy," Chiron-Brunner broke in, "I'm glad to see you alive. It's been a long time since I've made a house call to a potential camper. I'd hate to think I've wasted my time."**

**"House call?"**

**"My year at Yancy Academy, to instruct you. We have satyrs at most schools, of course, keeping a lookout. But Grover alerted me as soon as he met you. He sensed you were something special, so I decided to come upstate.** **I convinced the other Latin teacher to . . . ah, take a leave of absence."**

**I tried to remember the beginning of the school year. It seemed like so long ago, but I did have a fuzzy memory of there being another Latin teacher my first week at Yancy. Then, without explanation, he had disappeared and Mr. Brunner had taken the class.**

**"You came to Yancy just to teach me?" I asked.**

"So this is where his ego came from." Thalia said.

"Apparently." Nico agreed.

**Chiron nodded. "Honestly, I wasn't sure about you at first. We contacted your mother, let her know we were keeping an eye on you in case you were ready for Camp Half-Blood. But you still had so much to learn. Nevertheless, you made it here alive, and that's always the first test."**

**"Grover," Mr. D said impatiently, "are you playing or not?"**

**"Yes, sir!" Grover trembled as he took the fourth chair, though I didn't know why he should be so afraid of a pudgy little man in a tiger-print Hawaiian shirt.**

The room burst into laughter. Dionysus huffed and the sour smell of wine came into the air. People started passing out one by one.

When they woke up again some people were drunk. Clarisse could barely keep her eyes on the page so Dionysus took over reading.

"**You**_** do**_** know how to play pinochle?" Mr. D eyes me suspiciously.**

**"I'm afraid not," I said.**

**"I'm afraid not, **_**sir,**_**" he said.**

**"Sir," I repeated. I was liking the camp director less and less.**

"Same here." Dionysus grumbled. Connor-who was drunk- giggled and passed out again.

**"Well," he told me, "it is, along with gladiator fighting and Pac-Man, one of the greatest games ever invented by humans. I would expect all**_** civilized**_** young men to know the rules."**

**"I'm sure the boy can learn," Chiron said.**

**"Please," I said, "what is this place? What am I doing here? Mr. Brun-Chiron-why would you go to Yancy Academy just to teach me?"**

**Mr. D snorted. "I asked the same question."**

**The camp director dealt the cards, Grover flinched every time one landed on his pile.**

**Chiron smiled at me sympathetically, the way he used to in Latin class, as if to let me know that no matter what my average was, I was his star student. He expected me to have the right answer.**

**"Percy," he said. "Did you mother tell you nothing?"**

**"She said . . ." I remembered her sad eyes, looking out over the sea. "She told me she was afraid to send me here, even though my father had wanted her to. She said that once I was here, I probably couldn't leave. She wanted to keep me close to her."**

Nico said in a really childish voice (remember, there all drunk), "That's what my mommy wanted!"

Thalia grinned drowsily and punched Nico in the shoulder. "Shut up Nico."

**"Typical," Mr. D said. "That's how they usually get killed. Young man, are you bidding or not?"**

**"What?" I asked.**

**He explained, impatiently, how you bid in pinochle, and so I did.**

**"I'm afraid there's too much to tell," Chiron said. "I'm afraid our usual orientation film won't be sufficient."**

**"Orientation film?" I asked.**

**"No," Chiron decided. "Well, Percy. You know your friend Grover is a satyr. You know"-he pointed to the horn in the shoe box-"that you have killed the Minotaur. No small feat, either lad. **

"We also know," Annabeth giggled drowsily. "That he's my boyfriend."

"Oh," Athena smiled and swayed from side to side. "Good for you!"

Poseidon nodded eagerly like a dog and fell off his seat.

**What you may not know is that great powers are at work in your life. Gods-the forces you call the Greek gods-are very much alive."**

Jason smiled with his eyes closed. "Don't forget the Roman gods too."

**I stared at the others around the table.**

**I waited for somebody to yell, **_**No!**_** But all I got was Mr. D yelling, "Oh, a royal marriage. Trick! Trick!" He cackled as he tallied up his points.**

As he was doing right now watching every one drunk.

**"Mr. D," Grover asked timidly, "if you're not going to eat it, can I have your Diet Coke can?"**

**"Eh? Oh, all right."**

**Grover bit a huge shard out of the empty aluminum can and chewed it mournfully.**

"I tried that once," Apollo said clapping his hand three times and putting his fist in the air. "It. Was. Disgusting, disgusting, yeah it was disgusting!" He cheered and whooped like a cheerleader.

**"Wait," I told Chiron. "You're telling me there's such a thing as God."**

**"Well, now," Chiron said. "God-capital **_**G**_**, God. That's a different matter altogether. We shan't deal with the metaphysical."**

**"Metaphysical? But you were just talking about-"**

**"Ah, gods, plural, as in, great beings that control the forces of nature and human endeavors: the immortal gods of Olympus. That's a smaller matter."**

**"Smaller?"**

"Nooooooo." Ares whined. "Biiiiigggerrrrr. Stronggggger." He hugged Aphrodite like a teddy bear and she giggled.

"Hey," Hephaestus said standing up shakily. "Stop touching my wife." The two started a tug of war on Aphrodite. The entire time she giggled like a hyena.

**"Yes, quite. The gods we discussed in Latin class."**

**"Zeus," I said. "Hera. Apollo. You mean them."**

"I'm awesome." Apollo said in an impression of Peter Griffith.

**And there it was again-distant thunder on a cloudless day. **

**"Young man," said Mr. D, "I would really be less casual about throwing those names around, if I were you."**

**"But they're stories," I said. "They're-myths, to explain lightning and the seasons and stuff. They're what people believed before there was science."**

Artemis sat upside down on her throne, "I'm not a telescope." She pouted.

"**Science!" Mr. D scoffed. "And tell me, Perseus Jackson"-I flinched when he said my real name, which I never told anybody-**

Thalia giggled. "I like annoying him with it."

**"What will people think of your 'science' two thousand years from now?" Mr. D continued. "Hmm? They will call it primitive mumbo jumbo.**

"Oooh." Nico said swaying side to side. "Like, like the elephant. Jumbo the elephant. I met him in the underworld. I think."

**That's what. Oh, I love mortals-they have absolutely no sense of perspective. They think they've come **_**so-o-o**_** far. And have they, Chiron? Look at this boy and tell me."**

**I wasn't liking Mr. D much, but there was something about the way he called me mortal, as if . . . he wasn't. It was enough to put a lump in my throat, to suggest why Grover was dutifully minding his cards, chewing his soda can, and keeping his mouth shut.**

**"Percy," Chiron said, "you may choose to believe or not, but the fact is that **_**immortal**_** mean immortal. Can you imagine that for a moment, never dying? Never fading? Existing, just as you are, for all time?"**

**I was about to answer, off the top of my head, that it sounded like a pretty good deal, but the tone of Chiron's voice made me hesitate.**

**"You mean, whether people believed in you or not," I said.**

**"Exactly," Chiron agreed. "If you were a god, how would you like being called a myth, an old story to explain lightning? What if I told you, Perseus Jackson, that someday people would call **_**you **_**a myth,**

Annabeth smiled drowsily. "Just like now."

Rachel shook her head back and forth really fast and passed out.

**just created to explain how little boys can get over losing their mothers?"**

**My heart pounded. He was trying to make me angry for some reason, but I wasn't going to let him. **

"Good." Jason said. Piper passed out on his lap.

**"I wouldn't like it. But I don't believe in gods."**

**"Oh, you'd better," Mr. D murmured. "Before one of them incinerates you." **

**Grover said, "P-please, sir. He's just lost his mother. He's in shock."**

**"A lucky thing, too," Mr. D grumbled, playing a card. "Bad enough I'm confined to this miserable job, working with boys who don't even believe!"**

**He waved his hand and a goblet appeared on the table, as if the sunlight had bent, momentarily, and woven the air into glass. The goblet filled itself with red wine.**

Travis jumped like a little girl. "Oooh! Oooh! I want some!"

**My jaw dropped, but Chiron hardly looked up.**

**"Mr. D, he warned, "your restrictions."**

**Mr. D looked at the wine and feigned surprise.**

**"Dear me." He looked at the sky and yelled, "Old habits! Sorry!"**

Zeus got up and hugged Dionysus. He said in a really squeaky voice, "Apology accepted."

**More thunder.**

**Mr. D waved his hand again and the wineglass changed into a fresh can of Diet Coke. He sighed unhappily, popped the top of the soda, and went back to his card game.**

**Chiron winked at me. "Mr. D offended his father a while back, took a fancy to a wood nymph who had been declared off-limits."**

**"A wood nymph," I repeated, still staring at the Diet Coke can like it was from outer space.**

**"Yes," Mr. D confessed. "Father loves to punish me. The first time. Prohibition. Ghastly! Absolutely horrid ten years! The second time-well, she was pretty, and I couldn't stay away-the second time. He sent me here. Half-Blood Hill. Summer camp for brats like you. 'Be a better influence,' he told me. 'Work with youths rather than tearing them down.' Ha! Absolutely unfair."**

**Mr. D sounded about six years old, like a pouting little kid.**

Chris got up and hugged Zeus who was hugging Dionysus. "It's okay man. I'm here mommy."

**"And . . ." I stammered, "your father is . . ."**

**"Di **_**immortals,**_** Chiron," Mr. D said. "I thought you taught this boy the basics. My father is Zeus, of course."**

**I ran through D names from Greek mythology. Wine. The skin of a tiger. The satyrs seemed to work here. They way Grover cringed, as if Mr. D were his master.**

**"You're Dionysus," I said. "The god of wine."**

**Mr. D rolled his eyes. "What do they say, these days, Grover? Do the children say, "Well, duh!'?"**

**"Y-yes, Mr. D."**

**"Then, well, duh! Percy Jackson. Did you think I was Aphrodite, perhaps?"**

The said women who was still being pulled managed to take her stiletto off and throw it at Dionysus.

**"You're a god."**

**"Yes, child."**

**"A god. You."**

**He turned to look at me straight on and I saw a kind of purplish fire in his eyes, a hint that this whiny, plump little man was only showing me the tiniest bit of his true nature. I saw visions of grape vines choking unbelievers to death, drunken warriors insane with battle lust, sailors screaming as their hands turned to flippers, their faces elongating into dolphin snouts. I knew that if I pushed him, Mr. D would show me worse things. He would plant a disease in my brain that would leave me wearing a strait jacket in a rubber room for the rest of my life.**

Hades chuckled darkly, which made him look downright evil when he was drunk. "Scary stuff."

**"Would you like to test me, child?" he said quietly.**

"**No. No, sir."**

**The fire died a little. He turned back to his card game. "I believe I win."**

**"Not quite, Mr. D," Chiron said. He set down a straight, tallied the points, and said, "The game goes to me."**

**I thought Mr. D was going to vaporize Chiron right out of his wheelchair, but he just sighed through his nose, as if he were used to being beaten by the Latin teacher.**

At this Dionysus pouted.

**He got up, and Grover rose, too.**

**"I'm tired," Mr. D said. "I believe I'll take a nap before the sing-along tonight. But first, Grover, we need a talk, **_**again**_**, about your less-than-perfect performance on this assignment."**

**Grover's face beaded with sweat. "Y-yes sir."**

**Mr. D turned to me. "Cabin eleven, Percy Jackson. And mind your manners."**

**He swept into the farmhouse, Grover following miserably.**

**"Will Grover be okay?" I asked Chiron.**

**Chiron nodded, though he looked a bit troubled. "Old Dionysus isn't really mad. He just hates his job. He's been . . . ah, grounded, I guess you would say, and he can't stand waiting another century before he's allowed to go back to Olympus."**

**"Mount Olympus," I said. "You're telling me there really is a place there?"**

**"Well now, there's Mount Olympus in Greece. And then there's the home of the gods, the convergence point of their powers, which did indeed used to be on Mount Olympus. It's still called Mount Olympus, out of respect to the old ways, but the palace moves, Percy, just as the gods do."**

**"You mean the Greek gods are here? Like . . . in **_**America?**_**"**

**"Well, certainly. The gods move with the heart of the west."**

**"The what?"**

**"Come on, Percy. What you call 'Western civilization.' Do you think it's just an abstract concept? No, it's a living force. A collective consciousness that has burned bright for thousands of years. The gods are part of it. You might even say they are the source of it, or at least, they are tied to tightly to it that they couldn't possibly fade, not unless all of Western civilization were obliterated. The fire started in Greece. Then, as you well know-or as I hope you know, since you passed my course-the heart of the fire moved to Rome, and so did the gods. Oh, different names, perhaps-Jupiter for Zeus, Venus for Aphrodite, and so on-but the same forces, the same gods."**

**"And then they died."**

Demeter gasped and giggled. "REALLY! I never knew."

**"Died? No. Did the West die? The gods simply moved, to Germany, to France, to Spain, for a while. Wherever the flame was brightest, the gods were there. They spent several centuries in England. All you need to do is look at the architecture. People do not forget the gods. Every place they've ruled, for the last three thousand years, you can see them in painting, in statues, on the most important buildings. And yes, Percy, of course they are now in your United states. Look at your symbol, the eagle of Zeus. Look at the statue of Prometheus and Rockefeller Center, the Greek facades of your government buildings in Washington. I defy you to find any American city where the Olympians are not prominently displayed in multiple places. Like it or not-and believe me, plenty of people weren't very found or Rome, either-America is now the heart of the flame. It is the great power of the West. And so Olympus is here. And we are here."**

**It was all too much, especially the fact that I seemed to be included in Chiron's we, as if I were part of some club.**

**"Who are you, Chiron? Who . . . who am I?"**

"Evapotaly." Connor murmured in his sleep.

**Chiron smiled. He shifted his weight as if he were going to get up out of his wheelchair, but I knew that was impossible. He was paralyzed from the waist down.**

"That's what you think!" Apollo said. He stood on his throne wearing all leather and his face painted black and white singing 'Don't Stop Believin'.

**"Who are you?" he mused. "Well, that's the question we all want answered, isn't it? But for now, we should get you a bunk in cabin eleven. There will be new friends to meet. And plenty of time for lessons tomorrow. Besides, there will be s'mores at the campfire tonight, and I simply adore chocolate."**

"Vo po ve." Connor murmured still sleeping.

**And he did rise from his wheelchair. But there was something odd about the way he did it. His blanket fell away from his legs, but the legs didn't move. His waist kept getting longer, rising above his belt. At first, I thought he was wearing very long, white velvet underwear, but as he kept rising out of the chair, taller than any man, I realized that the velvet underwear wasn't underwear; it was the front of an animal, muscle and sinew under coarse white fur. And the wheelchair wasn't a chair. It was some kind of container, an enormous box on wheels, and it must've been magic, because there's no way it could've held all of him. A leg came out, long and knobby-kneed, with a huge polished hoof.**

**Then another front leg, then hindquarters, and then the box was empty, nothing but a metal shell with a couple of fake human legs attached.**

**I stared at the horse who had just sprung from the wheelchair: a huge white stallion. But where its neck should be was the upper body of my Latin teacher, smoothly grafted to the horse's trunk.**

**"What a relief," the centaur said. "I'd been cooped up in there so long, my fetlocks had fallen asleep, Now, come, Percy Jackson. Let's meet the other campers."**

Dionysus looked up and snapped his fingers. Everyone grabbed their heads and looked around. Nico was about to ask a question when Aphrodite screamed.

* * *

><p><strong>That's it for today. Might not be able to update as fast as usual. Erudite19<strong>


	7. Supreme Lord of the Bathroom

**Sorry for the long wait. Here's the entire chapter.**

* * *

><p>Aphrodite shrieked. "Why are you two pulling me?"<p>

Ares and Hephaestus looked down at Aphrodite and dropped her on the floor.

"Ow!"

Aphrodite started yelling and screaming at both Hephaestus and Ares, chasing them around the throne room. For someone who didn't work out much she ran fast and it helped that she didn't have her stilettos on and that she had one in her hand to use as a weapon.

Jason jumped out of his seat startled by Aphrodite screaming and dropped Piper who woke up and messaged her head while glaring at Jason.

Rachel who had used Connor as a pillow when she passed out woke up and screamed when she saw where she was. She tried to get up but Connor rolled over in his sleep and put his arm around her waist and pinned her down to the floor. She began whimpering and struggling against him.

Clarisse got up and tried to untangle Dionysus, Zeus, and Chris who managed to get tangled up through this whole incident.

Artemis sat upright in her seat clutching her head. The ichor had run all the way to her head when she had sat upside down. If she had sat like that for an extra minute, she would have probably passed out like everyone else. She looked around to find her baby brother standing on his throne, still in leather, still with black and white face paint, and still singing 'Don't Stop Believin'.

"Apollo! What are you doing?" She shrieked. Apollo didn't seem to hear her though. He kept singing like there was no tomorrow.

Artemis leaned over to Hermes who just happened to be filming everything. "When can you get him to the nearest mental institute?"

Nico who just got out of his daze felt the sting from the punch Thalia had given him. "Ow! What was that for Thals?"

"Sorry," Thalia said. "I wasn't really in control of what I was doing."

Nico nodded and accepted her apology.

Athena shook her head, "I'm sorry Annabeth did you say something?"

Poseidon nodded as he got off the floor and got back onto his throne, "Yeah, it was something about Percy. I just can't remember what?"

Annabeth was relieved. She had no idea what she was thinking when she said that. Apparently only Poseidon and Athena heard because everybody else who wasn't occupied looked at her confused.

"I just said that he's lucky enough to have survived because he went through a lot of things to get to camp." She hoped that they would buy the story because she didn't feel like explaining her boyfriend. It would be better if they found out through the books.

Athena was still dazed from the incident so she didn't press Annabeth for information. Poseidon accepted it and so did the others.

Travis finally pried Connor off of Rachel. When he picked up Connor, they both went tumbling to the floor while knocking over Katie.

Connor sat up and felt new fresh teeth in his mouth. "Yes I can talk again!" He walked over to Apollo's throne and started singing 'Don't Stop Believin' with Apollo.

Aphrodite chased Hephaestus and Ares around Apollo's throne. Ares tripped rounding a corner of Apollo's throne and fell onto Connor. Connor grabbed Apollo's leather pants before he could fall and pulled Apollo down with them. Apollo landed on Dionysus, Zeus, Chris, and Clarisse who was still trying to untangle the three.

Hephaestus got banged on the head repeatedly by Aphrodite who used her remaining stiletto.

After a while, a loud chorus of, "Ow." Was echoed in the throne room. After everything was put back into order, Apollo was signed up for a psychiatrist, and Dionysus was dealt with they got back to reading.

"I'll read." Chris said.

**"I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom" **Chris read.

**Once I got over the fact that my Latin teacher was a horse,**

"I don't think Chiron would like being called a horse." Katie said.

**we had a nice tour, though I was careful not to walk behind him. I'd done pooper-scooper patrol in the Macy's Thanksgiving** **Day Parade a few times, and, I'm sorry, but I did not trust Chiron's back end the way I trusted his front.**

"Huh…" Apollo mused. "Poseidon, do _you_ have a back end?"

Poseidon huffed. "Just because I'm the god of horses doesn't mean I have a back end Apollo."

"Then where does the food go?" Hermes grinned.

"Oh, shut it."

**We passed the volleyball pit. Several of the campers nudged each other. One pointed to the minotaur horn I was carrying. Another said, "That's **_**him**_**."**

**Most of the campers were older than me. Their satyr friends were bigger than Grover, all of them trotting around in orange CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirts, with nothing else to cover their bare shaggy hindquarters. I wasn't normally shy, but the way they stared at me made me uncomfortable. I felt like they were expecting me to do a flip or something.**

"You know, if Percy did a flip do you think he would do it like a dolphin?" Travis asked.

"If he did," Connor replied. "We could videotape it and send it to one of those shows where you send stupid videos and win thousands of dollars."

"Yeah but he's not here." Chris replied. "Besides, I doubt that he would do something like that."

Leo gasped. "What if we got Poseidon to do that?" They all turned to him.

"Oh no, absolutely not. I will not do a flip." Poseidon protested.

"Why not?" Nico whined.

"Because," Hades teased. "He probably _does _do it like a dolphin. Isn't that right Poseidon?"

"Hey! N-now… W-wait a minute-"

The room burst out into laughter as Poseidon stuttered excuses.

**I looked back at the farmhouse. It was a lot bigger than I'd realized—four stories tall, sky blue with white trim, like an upscale seaside resort. I was checking out the brass eagle weather vane** **on top when something caught my eye, a shadow in the uppermost window of the attic gable. Something had moved the curtain, just for a second, and I got the distinct impression I was being watched.**

Everyone except the trio shivered. Rachel had seen the mummy when she was becoming the Oracle and it was not a pretty picture.

"What's up there?" Jason asked.

"Nothing that you'll ever meet or ever want to see." Katie sad. She had seen the mummy during the capture the flag game.

There was so much fear in her voice that Jason decided that he really didn't want to see or meet whatever was up there.

**"What's up there?" I asked Chiron.**

**He looked where I was pointing, and his smile faded. "Just the attic."**

**"Somebody lives there?"**

**"No," he said with finality. "Not a single living thing."**

Again everyone except the trio shivered. Apollo smiled sadly. He didn't know why his Oracle wouldn't change bodies. After May had been affected by it he had been more determined to help his Oracle. Apparently his Oracle would change soon because Rachel was here.

**I got the feeling he was being truthful. But I was also sure something had moved that curtain.**

Jason frowned at this.

**"Come along, Percy," Chiron said, his lighthearted tone now a little forced. "Lots to see."**

**We walked through the strawberry fields, **

"Which Travis likes to stare at so much." Connor grinned.

"I wonder why?" Rachel said slyly.

Piper who caught on to their game said. "There must be some very good looking _strawberries_ there then."

"Maybe." Annabeth said. "But Travis is too scared to pick one."

"So he settles for staring instead." Thalia concluded.

"Guys!" Travis whined. "I get it already. Just stop."

"Are you sure you get it Travis?" Hermes asked.

"We might have to spell it out for you because it's so obvious." Apollo joked.

"Oh, don't worry Travis," Demeter said. "We all get it." She pointed at Katie who was blushing to her roots.

Aphrodite sighed happily. _Ah, young love._

**where campers were picking bushels of berries while a satyr played a tune on a reed pipe.**

**Chiron told me the camp grew a nice crop for export to New York restaurants and Mount Olympus. "It pays our expenses," he explained. "And the strawberries take almost no effort."**

**He said Mr. D had this effect on fruit-bearing plants: they just went crazy when he was around. It worked best with wine grapes, but Mr. D was restricted from growing those, **

"For a very good reason." Zeus huffed. "A reason that you just proved with your little incident."

Everyone turned to glare at him and he grinned sheepishly.

**so they grew strawberries instead.**

**I watched the satyr playing his pipe. His music was causing lines of bugs to leave the strawberry patch in every direction, like refugees fleeing a fire. I wondered if Grover could work that kind of magic with music.**

**I wondered if he was still inside the farmhouse, getting chewed out by Mr. D.**

Dionysus sighed. "Most likely."

"Good." Zeus said. He still didn't like Grover. Thalia rolled her eyes at her father.

**"Grover won't get in too much trouble, will he?" I asked Chiron. "I mean ... he was a good protector. Really."**

Thalia and Nico nodded. Zeus rolled his eyes.

"He was your protector too?" Hades asked in disbelief.

Nico sighed. "Along with Bianca."

"He let Bianca die?" Hades screamed.

"See brother," Zeus started. "I told you-"

"No. That's not what happened." Nico interrupted. "You'll find out probably around the third or fourth book."

**Chiron sighed. He shed his tweed jacket and draped it over his horses back like a saddle. "Grover has big dreams, Percy. Perhaps bigger than are reasonable.** **To reach his goal, he must first demonstrate great courage by succeeding as a keeper, finding a new camper and bringing him safely to Half-Blood Hill."**

**"But he did that!"**

**"I might agree with you," Chiron said. "But it is not my place to judge. Dionysus and the Council of Cloven Elders must decide. I'm afraid they might not see this assignment as a success. After all, Grover lost you in New York. Then there's the unfortunate ... ah ... fate of your mother. And the fact that Grover was unconscious when you dragged him over the property line. The council might question whether this shows any courage on Grover's part."**

"Exactly." Zeus snorted.

**I wanted to protest. None of what happened was Grover's fault. I also felt really, really guilty. If I hadn't given Grover the slip at the bus station, he might not have gotten in trouble.**

**"He'll get a second chance, won't he?"**

Thalia and Annabeth grimaced. That _was _his second chance.

**Chiron winced. "I'm afraid that **_**was **_**Grover's second chance, Percy. The council was not anxious to give him another, either, after what happened the first time, five years ago. **

Thalia's grimace got worse. Jason glanced at Thalia wondering why she would grimace. Was she his first chance?

**Olympus knows, I advised him to wait longer before trying again. He's still so small for his age..."**

**"How old is he?"**

**"Oh, twenty-eight."**

"I will never understand a satyr's age." Leo stated.

Hephaestus agreed. He'd never understand organic life forms.

**"What! And he's in sixth grade?"**

**"Satyrs mature half as fast as humans, Percy. Grover has been the equivalent of a middle school student for the past six years."**

"That's horrible." Piper said.

"It's not that bad." Hermes said. "I've been the equivalent of a college student for the past three thousand years." He smiled like it was the greatest thing in the world.

"I'm pretty sure Percy would disagree." Nico smiled.

"Oh yeah," Apollo grinned. "When you go back, ask Percy if he wants to be a god or not. I dare Mr. Jackson to refuse my offer."

Those who had been present in the Titan War grinned.

Thalia leaned over to Annabeth. "How ironic is that?"

"Very." She answered.

**"That's horrible."**

Everyone snorted while Travis exclaimed. "Oh no! Not Piper too!"

**"Quite," Chiron agreed. "At any rate, Grover is a late bloomer, even by satyr standards, and not yet very accomplished at woodland magic. Alas, he was anxious to pursue his dream. Perhaps now he will find some other career..."**

**"That's not fair," I said. "What happened the first time? Was it really so bad?"**

"Yes." Zeus said icily.

"Oh stop it." Aphrodite said. She hit Zeus in the head with her purse.

"Ow! Why'd you do that?"

"It's obvious that Grover is trying his best to make up for what happened."

Zeus huffed and rubbed his head.

**Chiron looked away quickly. "Let's move along, shall we?"**

**But I wasn't quite ready to let the subject drop. Something had occurred to me when Chiron talked about my mother's fate, as if he were intentionally avoiding the word **_**death. **_**The beginnings of an idea—a tiny, hopeful fire—started forming in my mind.**

Jason sat up. If Percy's mom wasn't dead then what was Percy planning.

**"Chiron," I said. "If the gods and Olympus and all that are real ..."**

**"Yes, child?"**

**"Does that mean the Underworld is real, too?"**

Jason's eyes bugged out. _So that's what Percy was planning._

Hades raised an eyebrow. If Percy wanted to get his mom it would take a lot more than coming up and asking for her.

Poseidon sighed. He loved Sally but Hades wouldn't give her up that easily. If Percy went into the Underworld there was a 97% chance that he might not get out. It was too risky.

**Chiron's expression darkened.**

**"Yes, child." He paused, as if choosing his words carefully. "There is a place where spirits go after death. But for now ... until we know more ... I would urge you to put that out of your mind."**

"That's not going to work is it?" Thalia sighed.

Annabeth shook her head. "Nope."

Rachel snorted. "If it had worked I would've been surprised."

**"What do you mean, 'until we know more'?"**

**"Come, Percy. Let's see the woods."**

**As we got closer, I realized how huge the forest was. It took up at least a quarter of the valley, with trees so tall and thick, you could imagine nobody had been in there since the Native Americans.**

Annabeth rolled her eyes at the coincidence. 'you could imagine _nobody_ had been in there'

**Chiron said, "The woods are stocked, if you care to try your luck, but go armed."**

**"Stocked with what?" I asked. "Armed with what?"**

**"You'll see. Capture the flag is Friday night. Do you have your own sword and shield?"**

Clarisse snorted. "Why would he?"

**"My own—?"**

**"No," Chiron said. "I don't suppose you do. I think a size five will do. I'll visit the armory later."**

**I wanted to ask what kind of summer camp had an armory, but there was too much else to think about, so the tour continued. We saw the archery range, the canoeing lake, the stables (which Chiron didn't seem to like very much),**

Several people snickered.

**the javelin range, the sing-along amphitheatre, and the arena where Chiron said they held sword and spear fights.**

**"Sword and spear fights?" I asked.**

**"Cabin challenges and all that," he explained. "Not lethal. Usually.**

"I wonder why?" Artemis said looking pointedly at Ares and Clarisse.

"That's an understatement." Leo said glancing at Clarisse. He had tried to sword fight before but he wasn't that good at it. The feel of a hammer in his hands is better.

**Oh, yes, and there's the mess hall."**

**Chiron pointed to an outdoor pavilion framed in white Grecian columns on a hill overlooking the sea. There were a dozen stone picnic tables. No roof. No walls.**

**"What do you do when it rains?" I asked.**

"That's what I asked when I first got there." Nico stated.

"Yeah." Thalia said. "But of course little Nico had a lot of questions."

"I remember that." Connor said. "You danced like you needed to pee all the time."

"I did not!"

"Yes you did." Clarisse countered. "You were super hyper."

"I thought you were about to launch into the sky and explode into fireworks." Travis said.

"Travis," Katie said. "They only do that in cartoons."

"So?"

**Chiron looked at me as if I'd gone a little weird.**

**"We still have to eat, don't we?" I decided to drop the subject.**

**Finally, he showed me the cabins. There were twelve of them, **

Piper frowned. "What-"

"We'll explain later." Annabeth said.

**nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in a U, with two at the base and five in a row on either side. And they were without doubt the most bizarre collection of buildings I'd ever seen.**

The Olympians smiled.

**Except for the fact that each had a large brass number above the door (odds on the left side, evens on the right), they looked absolutely nothing alike. Number nine had smokestacks, like a tiny factory.**

Hephaestus and Leo grinned.

**Number four had tomato vines on the walls and a roof made out of real grass.**

Demeter and Katie beamed.

**Seven seemed to be made of solid gold, which gleamed so much in the sunlight it was almost impossible to look at. **

Apollo smiled which was hard to look act because his teeth were too bright.

**They all faced a commons area about the size of a soccer field, dotted with Greek statues, fountains, flower beds, and a couple of basketball hoops (which were more my speed).**

"Mines too." Jason murmured.

**In the center of the field was a huge stone-lined fire pit. Even though it was a warm afternoon, the hearth smoldered. A girl about nine years old was tending the flames, poking the coals with a stick.**

Poseidon smiled warmly. "That must be Hestia."

Zeus and Hades nodded. Hestia was by far their favorite sister.

**The pair of cabins at the head of the field, numbers one and two, looked like his-and-hers mausoleums, big white marble boxes with heavy columns in front. Cabin one was the biggest and bulkiest of the twelve. Its polished bronze doors shimmered like a hologram, so that from different angles lightning bolts seemed to streak across them.**

Zeus beamed at this. Thalia and Jason smiled wryly. They both still didn't like the Zeus cabin much.

**Cabin two was more graceful somehow, with slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers. The walls were carved with images of peacocks.**

Almost everyone rolled their eyes. Thalia, Annabeth, Jason, and Piper glared a little. Leo smiled slightly. His Tia was so crazy.

**"Zeus and Hera?" I guessed.**

**"Correct," Chiron said.**

**"Their cabins look empty."**

**"Several of the cabins are. That's true. No one ever stays in one or two."**

**Okay. So each cabin had a different god, like a mascot.**

"You could say it like that." Athena mused but then changed her mind. "I'm not a mascot."

Most of the Olympians agreed.

"Well," Hermes started. "In a way, we kind of are." Then he added quickly because most of the Olympians were staring at him. "I think he just means we represent our cabins the way a mascot represents a team or a school."

**Twelve cabins for the twelve Olympians. But why would some be empty?**

**I stopped in front of the first cabin on the left, cabin three.**

Poseidon beamed.

"Of course Percy would stop there." Thalia shook her head.

"It's like he's foreshadowing who's his father." Rachel stated.

**It wasn't high and mighty like cabin one, but long and low and solid. The outer walls were of rough gray stone studded with pieces of seashell and coral, as if the slabs had been hewn straight from the bottom of the ocean floor.**

Poseidon nodded. "They were."

**I peeked inside the open doorway and Chiron said, "Oh, I wouldn't do that!"**

**Before he could pull me back, I caught the salty scent of the interior, like the wind on the shore at Montauk. The interior walls glowed like abalone. There were six empty bunk beds with silk sheets turned down. **

"Wow." Jason said. He shared a look with Thalia and knew they were thinking the same thing, _Kind of better than the Zeus Cabin._

**But there was no sign anyone had ever slept there. The place felt so sad and lonely, I was glad when Chiron put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Come along, Percy."**

**Most of the other cabins were crowded with campers.**

"I wonder why?" Hermes scrutinized the other gods who did their best not to look at him.

**Number five was bright red—a real nasty paint job, as if the color had been splashed on with buckets and fists.**

Ares smiled smugly.

**The roof was lined with barbed wire. A stuffed wild boar's head hung over the doorway, and its eyes seemed to follow me. Inside I could see a bunch of mean-looking kids, both girls and boys, arm wrestling and arguing with each other while rock music blared. The loudest was a girl maybe thirteen or fourteen. She wore a size XXXL CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirt under a camouflage jacket. She zeroed in on me and gave me an evil sneer. She reminded me of Nancy Bobofit, though the camper girl was much bigger and tougher looking, and her hair was long and stringy, and brown instead of red.**

Clarisse smiled smugly at this.

**I kept walking, trying to stay clear of Chiron's hooves. "We haven't seen any other centaurs," I observed.**

**"No," said Chiron sadly. "My kinsmen are a wild and barbaric folk, **

"Go party ponies!" Apollo cheered.

"They are so cool!" Travis screamed.

"I know right." Hermes grinned.

"They threw an awesome party last summer." Connor said.

"Didn't they get drunk on root beer and start shooting paintballs at us?" Katie asked.

"Yes." Clarisse said. "I had to re-clean and re-sharpen my sword twice."

"Do you guys mean during the-" Nico started.

"Yeah."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Trust them to throw a party in the middle of all of that."

"All of what?" Hades asked.

"You'll find out soon." Annabeth replied. "If we can get through these books."

**I'm afraid. You might encounter them in the wilderness, or at major sporting events. But you won't see any here."**

**"You said your name was Chiron. Are you really ..."**

**He smiled down at me. **_**"The **_**Chiron from the stories? Trainer of Hercules and all that? Yes, Percy, I am."**

**"But, shouldn't you be dead?"**

**Chiron paused, as if the question intrigued him. "I honestly don't know about **_**should **_**be. The truth is, I **_**can't **_**be dead. You see, eons ago the gods granted my wish. I could continue the work I loved. I could be a teacher of heroes as long as humanity needed me. I gained much from that wish ... and I gave up much. But I'm still here, so I can only assume I'm still needed."**

**I thought about being a teacher for three thousand years. It wouldn't have made my Top Ten Things to Wish For list.**

"Mines either." Nico grimaced. Leo agreed.

**"Doesn't it ever get boring?"**

**"No, no," he said. "Horribly depressing, at times, but never boring."**

"Very depressing." Annabeth muttered.

**"Why depressing?"**

**Chiron seemed to turn hard of hearing again.**

**"Oh, look," he said. "Annabeth is waiting for us."**

Athena groaned and Poseidon sighed.

"He couldn't have chosen a different way to change the subject?" Poseidon sighed. Then he turned to the Stolls. "When you get back teach Chiron how to change a subject correctly okay."

They nodded and Travis pulled out his book to write Chiron's name.

**The blonde girl **

Annabeth sighed. "Seriously, _blonde?_"

**I'd met at the Big House was reading a book in front of the last cabin on the left, number eleven.**

**When we reached her, she looked me over critically, like she was still thinking about how much I drooled.**

All of the demigods snickered while Annabeth rolled her eyes.

**I tried to see what she was reading, but I couldn't make out the title. I thought my dyslexia was acting up. Then I realized the title wasn't even English. The letters looked Greek to me. I mean, literally Greek.**

**There were pictures of temples and statues and different kinds of columns, like those in an architecture book.**

"Which makes total sense since you're the Architect of Olympus." Piper said.

"Wait a minute." Apollo said. "Why would Olympus need an Architect? What happened to it?"

…

Apollo sighed. "Keep reading Chris."

**"Annabeth," Chiron said, "I have masters' archery class at noon. Would you take Percy from here?"**

**"Yes, sir."**

**"Cabin eleven," Chiron told me, gesturing toward the doorway. "Make yourself at home."**

**Out of all the cabins, eleven looked the most like a regular old summer camp cabin, with the emphasis on **_**old.**_

Hermes smiled fondly. "It's not that bad. I _would _fix it but it's overflowing right now." He pointedly looked at the other gods.

**The threshold was worn down, the brown paint peeling. Over the doorway was one of those doctor's symbols, a winged pole with two snakes wrapped around it. What did they call it...?**

"A caduceus." Hermes said.

**A caduceus.**

**Inside, it was packed with people, both boys and girls, way more than the number of bunk beds. Sleeping bags were spread all over on the floor. It looked like a gym where the Red Cross had set up an evacuation center.**

**Chiron didn't go in. The door was too low for him. But when the campers saw him they all stood and bowed respectfully.**

**"Well, then," Chiron said. "Good luck, Percy. I'll see you at dinner."**

**He galloped away toward the archery range.**

**I stood in the doorway, looking at the kids. They weren't bowing anymore. They were staring at me, sizing me up. I knew this routine. I'd gone through it at enough schools.**

**"Well?" Annabeth prompted. "Go on."**

**So naturally I tripped coming in the door and made a total fool of myself.**

Annabeth and Thalia rolled their eyes while everyone snickered.

"Naturally?" Jason said incredulous.

"Did we mention he was sarcastic?" Nico asked.

"Oh."

**There were some snickers from the campers, but none of them said anything.**

**Annabeth announced, "Percy Jackson, meet cabin eleven."**

**"Regular or undetermined?" somebody asked.**

**I didn't know what to say, but Annabeth said, "Undetermined."**

**Everybody groaned.**

Some of the gods shifted in their seats.

**A guy who was a little older than the rest came forward.**

**"Now, now, campers. That's what we're here for. Welcome, Percy. You can have that spot on the floor, right over there."**

**The guy was about nineteen, and he looked pretty cool. He was tall and muscular, with short-cropped sandy hair and a friendly smile. He wore an orange tank top, cutoffs, sandals, and a leather necklace with five different-colored clay beads. The only thing unsettling about his appearance was a thick white scar that ran from just beneath his right eye to his jaw, like an old knife slash.**

Throughout this entire paragraph, the older campers grimaced.

Jason sat up. He recognized Luke from the picture he had seen of him with Thalia and Annabeth.

**"This is Luke," Annabeth said, and her voice sounded different somehow. I glanced over and could've sworn she was blushing.**

"I was _not_!" Annabeth growled.

Aphrodite, who didn't notice the grim expression on the camper's face said, "Oooh! A love triangle."

Athena grimaced and Poseidon relaxed a little. Piper raised an eyebrow at Annabeth but didn't say anything. Thalia and Nico ignored the fact that Luke had come into the story and grinned at Annabeth, _So much blackmail material._

**She saw me looking, and her expression hardened again. "He's your counselor, for now."**

**"For now?" I asked.**

**"You're undetermined," Luke explained patiently. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travelers."**

**I looked at the tiny section of floor they'd given me. I had nothing to put there to mark it as my own, no luggage, no clothes, no sleeping bag. Just the Minotaur's horn. I thought about setting that down, **

Hermes grinned wildly. "Go on Percy. Set it down." The goddesses rolled their eyes at him.

He fist bumped Apollo. When he looked up and saw Poseidon's glare he said, "Never mind."

**but then I remembered that Hermes was also the god of thieves.**

The said god silently cursed.

**I looked around at the campers' faces, some sullen and suspicious, some grinning stupidly, some eyeing me as if they were waiting for a chance to pick my pockets.**

"And that's how you know which children are Hermes'." Athena said.

**"How long will I be here?" I asked.**

**"Good question," Luke said. "Until you're determined."**

**"How long will that take?"**

**The campers all laughed.**

"Wow." Artemis said. "They must be really sad."

Apollo, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, and Ares squirmed in their seats.

**"Come on," Annabeth told me. "I'll show you the volleyball court."**

**"I've already seen it."**

**"Come on." She grabbed my wrist and dragged me outside. I could hear the kids of cabin eleven laughing behind me.**

**When we were a few feet away, Annabeth said, "Jackson, you have to do better than that."**

**"What?"**

**She rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath, "I can't believe I thought you were the one."**

"Oh," Aphrodite beamed. "And what does that mean?"

Athena and Poseidon looked towards Annabeth. She blushed and said, "Probably the opposite of what you're thinking."

**"What's your problem?" I was getting angry now. "All I know is, I killed some bull guy—"**

**"Don't talk like that!" Annabeth told me. "You know how many kids at this camp wish they'd had your chance?"**

Annabeth snorted. "Not anymore."

"I'll be perfectly fine if I never get a chance again." Nico said.

The others agreed.

**"To get killed?"**

**"To fight the Minotaur! What do you think we train for?"**

**I shook my head. "Look, if the thing I fought really was **_**the **_**Minotaur, the same one in the stories ..."**

**"Yes."**

**"Then there's only one."**

**"Yes."**

**"And he died, like, a gajillion years ago, right? **

Almost everyone sighed.

**Theseus killed him in the labyrinth. So ..."**

**"Monsters don't die, Percy. They can be killed. But they don't die."**

**"Oh, thanks. That clears it up."**

Everyone rolled their eyes.

**"They don't have souls, like you and me. You can dispel them for a while, maybe even for a whole lifetime if you're lucky. But they are primal forces. Chiron calls them arche types. Eventually, they re-form."**

"I hate that part." Connor muttered.

**I thought about Mrs. Dodds. "You mean if I killed one, accidentally, with a sword—"**

**"The Fur ... I mean, your math teacher. That's right. She's still out there. You just made her very, very mad."**

**"How did you know about Mrs. Dodds?"**

**"You talk in your sleep."**

Travis wiggled his eyebrows. "Of course you would know Annabeth."

He got hit on his arm with a knife which produced a very nice bruise.

**"You almost called her something. A Fury? They're Hades' torturers, right?"**

**Annabeth glanced nervously at the ground, as if she expected it to open up and swallow her.**

"Would it?" Jason asked Hades.

"Sometimes, yes it would." Hades replied.

Piper shivered. Leo turned to Poseidon. "I thought Zeus was the dramatic one?"

Poseidon rolled his eyes. "He is. Hades is just deranged."

"I take offense to that."

"It's true." Ares said. "Yesterday I saw you whispering to your Helm of Darkness."

"I was not!" Hades protested.

"Yes you were." Hermes countered. "I recorded that too. I could show it to everyone." He pulled out a video camera.

"Fine! Fine! I was. Just don't show anyone." Hades said.

Some people busted out laughing. "Dad!" Nico yelled.

"It's not my fault if it talks to me." Hades stated.

"This is a whole new level of deranged." Artemis muttered. "Maybe we should check him in with Apollo at that mental institute."

"No mental institute on Earth would be able to help that man." Demeter stated. "Like I said before, craziness runs in the family. It's only a matter of time before it happens to Nico."

"Hey!"

**"You shouldn't call them by name, even here. We call them the Kindly Ones, if we have to speak of them at all."**

"Which is a totally bogus name if you ask me." Leo stated.

**"Look, is there anything we **_**can **_**say without it thundering?" I sounded whiny, **

"That's true." Annabeth said.

"When does he ever not sound whiny?" Clarisse snorted.

"When he's fighting in battle." Thalia joked.

Clarisse huffed. He may not like Percy but she had respect for him.

**even to myself, but right then I didn't care. "Why do I have to stay in cabin eleven, anyway? Why is everybody so crowded together? There are plenty of empty bunks right over there."**

**I pointed to the first few cabins, and Annabeth turned pale. "You don't just choose a cabin, Percy. It depends on who your parents are. Or... your parent."**

**She stared at me, waiting for me to get it.**

**"My mom is Sally Jackson," I said.** **"She works at the candy store in Grand Central Station. At least, she used to."**

**"I'm sorry about your mom, Percy. But that's not what I mean. I'm talking about your other parent. Your dad."**

**"He's dead. I never knew him."**

Poseidon winced.

**Annabeth sighed. Clearly, she'd had this conversation before with other kids.**

"Too many times." She muttered.

**"Your father's not dead, Percy."**

**"How can you say that? You know him?"**

**"No, of course not."**

**"Then how can you say—"**

**"Because I know **_**you.**_ **You wouldn't be here if you weren't one of us."**

**"You don't know anything about me."**

"I beg to differ." Connor said leaning over to Nico. Nico merely smiled.

**"No?" She raised an eyebrow. "I bet you moved around from school to school. I bet you were kicked out of a lot of them."**

**"How—"**

**"Diagnosed with dyslexia. Probably ADHD, too."**

**I tried to swallow my embarrassment. "What does that have to do with anything?"**

**"Taken together, it's almost a sure sign. The letters float off the page when you read, right? **

Connor gasped. "I just realized something. Annabeth has dyslexia. A daughter of Athena can't read."

The others gasped.

"Oh wow. Really. You all know I have dyslexia." Annabeth said.

"Yeah." Nico said. "But we never really thought about it."

"'Cause you're the daughter of Athena and all." Leo stated.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Read Chris."

**That's because your mind is hardwired for ancient Greek.** **And the ADHD—you're impulsive, can't sit still in the classroom. That's your battle field reflexes. In a real fight, they'd keep you alive. As for the attention problems, that's because you see too much, Percy, not too little. Your senses are better than a regular mortal's. Of course the teachers want you medicated. Most of them are monsters. They don't want you seeing them for what they are."**

**"You sound like ... you went through the same thing?"**

**"Most of the kids here did. If you weren't like us, you couldn't have survived the Minotaur, much less the ambrosia and nectar."**

**"Ambrosia and nectar?"**

**"The food and drink we were giving you to make you better. That stuff would've killed a normal kid. It would've turned your blood to fire and your bones to sand and you'd be dead. Face it. You're a half-blood."**

**A half-blood.**

**I was reeling with so many questions I didn't know where to start.**

**Then a husky voice yelled, "Well! A newbie!"**

**I looked over. The big girl from the ugly red cabin**

Ares frowned.

**was sauntering toward us. She had three other girls behind her, all big and ugly and mean looking like her, all wearing camo jackets.**

**"Clarisse," Annabeth sighed. "Why don't you go polish your spear or something?"**

**"Sure, Miss Princess," the big girl said. "So I can run you through with it Friday night."**

_**''Erre es korakas!"**_ **Annabeth said, which I somehow under stood was Greek for 'Go to the crows!' though I had a feeling it was a worse curse than it sounded. **

"It is."

**"You don't stand a chance."**

**"We'll pulverize you," Clarisse said, but her eye twitched. Perhaps she wasn't sure she could follow through on the threat. **

"Yes I could." Clarisse stated.

"Oh yeah," Travis said. "And how'd that work out for you?"

She growled at him but said nothing.

**She turned toward me. "Who's this little runt?"**

**"Percy Jackson," Annabeth said, "meet Clarisse, Daughter of Ares."**

**I blinked. "Like ... the war god?"**

**Clarisse sneered. "You got a problem with that?"**

**"No," I said, recovering my wits. "It explains the bad smell."**

**Clarisse growled. "We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy."**

"Oh," Leo said. "So that's why you call him Prissy."

Clarisse nodded.

**"Percy."**

**"Whatever. Come on, I'll show you."**

**"Clarisse—" Annabeth tried to say.**

**"Stay out of it, wise girl."**

All of the demigods except Annabeth, Jason, Leo, and Piper gasped.

"Is that when-"

"So that's how-"

"That's why he-"

"Yes." Annabeth rolled her eyes. "It's not a big deal you guys."

"Yes it is!" They all chorused.

"I don't get it." Piper said.

"That's Percy's nickname for Annabeth." Thalia answered.

"Oh."

Again the gods raised an eyebrow for this.

"Nickname?" Athena asked just to be sure.

"Yes." Before she could answer Chris kept reading. He had a feeling Athena would start asking questions.

**Annabeth looked pained, but she did stay out of it, and I didn't really want her help. I was the new kid. I had to earn my own rep.**

Jason thought Percy had a real chance at the Roman camp. He seemed like a tough kid.

**I handed Annabeth my minotaur horn and got ready to fight, but before I knew it, Clarisse had me by the neck and was dragging me toward a cinder-block building that I knew immediately was the bathroom.**

Clarisse grimaced remembering what had happened there. Ares smiled smugly.

**I was kicking and punching. I'd been in plenty of fights before, but this big girl Clarisse had hands like iron. **

**She dragged me into the girls' bathroom. There was a line of toilets on one side and a line of shower stalls down the other. It smelled just like any public bathroom, and I was thinking—as much as I **_**could **_**think with Clarisse ripping my hair out—that if this place belonged to the gods, they should've been able to afford classier johns.**

Some people chuckled.

"Yes Dionysus," Zeus rolled his eyes. "Why don't you have _classier johns?_"

**Clarisse's friends were all laughing, and I was trying to find the strength I'd used to fight the Minotaur, but it just wasn't there.**

**"Like he's 'Big Three' material," Clarisse said as she pushed me toward one of the toilets. "Yeah, right. Minotaur probably fell over laughing, he was so stupid looking."**

**Her friends snickered.**

Poseidon glared at Clarisse who sighed.

**Annabeth stood in the corner, watching through her fingers.**

She rolled her eyes but didn't say anything.

**Clarisse bent me over on my knees and started pushing my head toward the toilet bowl. It reeked like rusted pipes and, well, like what goes into toilets. **

Many people wrinkled their noses.

**I strained to keep my head up. I was looking at the scummy water, thinking, I will not go into that. I won't.**

Despite the situation Nico chuckled. When everyone looked towards him he said, "No matter what's going on, even if it's going to happen, Percy's always stubborn."

**Then something happened. I felt a tug in the pit of my stomach.**

Poseidon was the one smiling smugly now. Ares frowned and Clarisse grimaced even more. Annabeth sighed at the incident.

**I heard the plumbing rumble, the pipes shudder. Clarisse's grip on my hair loosened. Water shot out of the toilet, **

"Ewww."

**making an arc straight over my head, and the next thing I knew, I was sprawled on the bathroom tiles with Clarisse screaming behind me.**

**I turned just as water blasted out of the toilet again, hitting Clarisse straight in the face so hard it pushed her down onto her butt.**

**The water stayed on her like the spray from a fire hose, pushing her backward into a shower stall.**

**She struggled, gasping, and her friends started coming toward her.**

**But then the other toilets exploded, too, and six more streams of toilet water blasted them back. The showers acted up, too, and together all the fixtures sprayed the camouflage girls right out of the bathroom, spinning them around like pieces of garbage being washed away.**

At the end of this everyone was laughing hysterically. Some falling off their chairs. Ares and Clarisse glared at everyone until they stopped laughing.

**As soon as they were out the door, I felt the tug in my gut lessen, and the water shut off as quickly as it had started.**

**The entire bathroom was flooded. Annabeth hadn't been spared.**

The said girl huffed.

**She was dripping wet, but she hadn't been pushed out the door. She was standing in exactly the same place, staring at me in shock.**

**I looked down and realized I was sitting in the only dry spot in the whole room. There was a circle of dry floor around me. I didn't have one drop of water on my clothes. Nothing.**

"That's pretty cool." Leo said. "He's water resistant." _While I'm fire resistant._

Poseidon nodded.

**I stood up, my legs shaky.**

**Annabeth said, "How did you ..."**

**"I don't know."**

**We walked to the door. Outside, Clarisse and her friends were sprawled in the mud, and a bunch of other campers had gathered around to gawk. Clarisse's hair was flattened across her face. Her camouflage jacket was sopping and she smelled like sewage. **

**She gave me a look of absolute hatred. "You are dead, new boy. You are totally dead."**

Ares scowled. He would've said something but Poseidon glared at him and he wasn't stupid.

**I probably should have let it go, but I said, "You want to gargle with toilet water again, Clarisse? Close your mouth."**

Some people resumed laughing at this and Clarisse huffed. Ares glared at anyone laughing.

**Her friends had to hold her back. They dragged her toward cabin five, while the other campers made way to avoid her flailing feet.**

**Annabeth stared at me. I couldn't tell whether she was just grossed out or angry at me for dousing her.**

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Kind of both."

**"What?" I demanded. "What are you thinking?"**

**"I'm thinking," She said, "That I want you on my team for capture the flag."**

"Awww." Aphrodite cooed. "You want him on your team."

Everyone rolled their eyes.

Chris held out the book. "Who wants to read next?"

* * *

><p><strong>Will try to update faster next time. Erudite19<strong>


	8. My Dinner Goes Up in Smoke

**Here's Chapter 8.**

* * *

><p>"I'll read." Connor said.<p>

All the demigods looked at him in shock.

"What?" Connor whined. "I can read you know."

"We know that." Thalia said. "We just want to know why you want to read."

"Usually when I try to teach you Ancient Greek you start to scream and whine like an eight year old." Annabeth added.

"Oh." Connor said. "I don't know. After Travis fell on me I just felt like reading."

Leo shrugged. "Maybe that fall knocked some sense into him. Literally."

The other demigods shrugged.

**"My Dinner Goes up in Smoke," **Connor read.

Ares grinned wildly. The flames in his eyes increased.

Hephaestus rolled his eyes. "Oh, please Ares. That puny little fire show that you put on in your eyes is nothing compared to what I can do." He held out his hand and a couple of flames fluttered in his hands.

Ares watched for a second then through back his head and laughed. "Is that what you call a fire Hephaestus? That tiny little-"

He was interrupted because Hephaestus' fire sputtered chaotically and grew to the size of a bonfire. Ares' eyes bugged out.

"_That_," Hephaestus said. "Is what you call a fire." Ares stared but backed off.

Aphrodite sat up and suddenly took more interest in Hephaestus. She had never paid much attention to Hephaestus before. She figured he was just all work and brains not. Not much. But now...

"That was impressive." Aphrodite commented. Ares' jaw fell to the ground. Hephaestus grinned at Aphrodite. Athena and Artemis raised an eyebrow at Aphrodite while Hermes and Apollo snickered at Ares' face.

Piper looked at her mother with new respect. She didn't think that Aphrodite thought much of Hepaestus, which was kind of true, but maybe Aphrodite could live up to being the goddess of love.

**Word of the bathroom incident spread immediately.**

Dionysus shrugged. "It is a small camp. There's enough kids there for an incident to spread like wildfire."

Nico rolled his eyes. "That's an understatement." He muttered.

Dionysus raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

**Wherever I went, campers pointed at me and murmured something about toilet water. Or maybe they were just staring at Annabeth, who was still pretty much dripping wet.**

Annabeth huffed while the other demigods snickered. Poseidon was kind of glad that his son had doused the daughter of Athena. He had nothing against Annabeth but that meant that Percy was growing up to be just like him. Of course he would never do that to Athena. It would be too childish and unless he wanted to go to Tartarus soon, he would keep to himself.

**She showed me a few more places: the metal shop (where kids were forging their own swords), the arts-and-crafts room (where satyrs were sandblasting a giant marble statue of a goat-man),**

Hermes smiled. Pan was one of his favorite sons.

Annabeth, Rachel, and Nico smiled sadly remembering what had happened to Pan. Hermes would find out in due time what happened to him. There was no need to give him two heart breaks within one story.

**and the climbing wall, which actually consisted of two facing walls that shook violently, dropped boulders, sprayed lava, and clashed together if you didn't get to the top fast enough.**

"The first time I saw it, I thought that it was on fire." Piper said.

Clarisse sighed. "Why does every camper think that?"

"Maybe it's because they don't want to believe that it's lava." Nico said.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "That's the most sense you've made since we started to read this book."

Nico rolled his eyes. "My explanations make sense, thank you very much."

Hades nodded along with his son. "I understood everyone of them."

Athena rolled her eyes at the two. Then she turned to Demeter. "Maybe you are right. Craziness does run in the family."

**Finally we returned to the canoeing lake, where the trail led back to the cabins.**

Poseidon smiled a little.

**"I've got training to do," Annabeth said flatly. "Dinner's at seven-thirty. Just follow your cabin to the mess hall."**

Leo grinned. "Someone's angry."

**"Annabeth, I'm sorry about the toilets."**

**"Whatever."**

**"It wasn't my fault."**

Piper frowned. "Yes it was."

"Tell him that." Annabeth answered.

**She looked at me skeptically, and I realized it was my fault. I'd made water shoot out of the bathroom fixtures. I didn't understand how. But the toilets had responded to me. I had become one with the plumbing.**

Travis' eyes grew wide. "I want to become one with the plumbing."

"That would be so cool." Connor agreed. "Clarisse would be all like 'I'm going to kill you guys' and we'll be like 'Plumbing Powers Activate!'"

"I'd be called Sewage Boy!"

"And I'd be called Porcelain Boy!"

Clarisse glared at the two.

"You guys are so mean." Rachel said.

"Comedic counsel is soometimes harsh." Travis said in a lame japanese impersonation.

**"You need to talk to the Oracle," Annabeth said.**

**"Who?"**

**"Not who. What. The Oracle. I'll ask Chiron."**

Piper raised an eyebrow at Annabeth. "I'm pretty sure Rachel is a who not a what."

Annabeth sighed. "This was before Rachel became the Oracle. Back when the Oracle wouldn't change bodies and we had a mummy as an Oracle."

"A mummy." Leo joked. "You've got to be kidding?"

"Oh." Jason said. "That's what moved the curtain when Percy was taking a tour with Chiron."

Annabeth nodded.

**I stared into the lake, wishing somebody would give me a straight answer for once.**

Thalia turned to Poseidon. "It's like you're calling him."

"Or like he's drawing his self to the sea." Chris said.

**I wasn't expecting anybody to be looking back at me from the bottom, so my heart skipped a beat when I noticed two teenage girls sitting cross-legged at the base of the pier, about twenty feet below. They wore blue jeans and shimmering green T-shirts, and their brown hair floated loose around their shoulders as minnows darted in and out. They smiled and waved as if I were a long-lost friend.**

"In a way," Artemis said. "He kind of is."

**I didn't know what else to do. I waved back.**

**"Don't encourage them," Annabeth warned. "Naiads are terrible flirts."**

"Ooh," Aphrodite cooed. "A love square, rectangle, trapezoid, ... whatever."

"What?"

"Annabeth, Percy, Luke, and whichever naiad is at the bottom of the lake." Aphrodite answered. "Therefore a love square, rectangle, trapezoid, ... whatever."

"Oh."

"Is little Annie jealous?" Travis snickered.

"One: I barely know him. Two: If you don't stop calling me Annie I'm going to give you another bruise to match the one you already have."

**"Naiads," I repeated, feeling completely overwhelmed. "That's it. I want to go home now."**

Some people snickered.

"That's exactly how I felt." Thalia said.

"At some point," Katie stated. "I guess we all felt that way at one time or another." The others nodded.

"Except Rachel," Annabeth said. She turned to Rachel. "You were just relieved that you weren't hallucinating."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "You try hallucinating for 14 years and you'll see just how relieved you are."

"I don't think Hades would mine much." Demeter muttered.

"Or Nico." Clarisse agreed.

"Actually," Hades stated. "I don't think I would mine much."

"Yeah," Nico agreed. "I'd get to see something weird and different everyday. Why are you all staring at us like that?"

**Annabeth frowned. "Don't you get it, Percy? You are home. This is the only safe place on earth for kids like us."**

**"You mean, mentally disturbed kids?"**

"I can think of a few." Athena muttered glancing at Nico.

"Only some of us are mentally disturbed." Katie said glancing at the Stolls.

**"I mean not human. Not totally human, anyway. Half-human."**

**"Half-human and half-what?"**

**"I think you know."**

**I didn't want to admit it, but I was afraid I did. I felt a tingling in my limbs, a sensation I sometimes felt when my mom talked about my dad.**

**"God," I said. "Half-god."**

**Annabeth nodded. "Your father isn't dead, Percy. He's one of the Olympians."**

**"That's ... crazy."**

"No, Poseidon isn't crazy. That's Hades." I'll let you guess who said that.

**"Is it? What's the most common thing gods did in the old stories? They ran around falling in love with humans**

The goddesses snorted. "Who said anything about falling in love?" Artemis said.

Aphrodite scoffed. "There's no love eminating from them when their with mortal woman."

"That's because their not their for love," Athena started. "They're there for lust."

"Hey!" The gods protested.

"We fall in love with them first." Apollo said. The godesses scrutinized him. "Fine, sometimes."

**and having kids with them. Do you think they've changed their habits in the last few millennia?"**

"No." All the demigods chorused.

**"But those are just-" I almost said myths again. Then I remembered Chiron's warning that in two thousand years, I might be considered a myth.**

**"But if all the kids here are half-gods,"**

**"Demigods," Annabeth said. "That's the official term. Or half-bloods."**

**"Then who's your dad?"**

**Her hands tightened around the pier railing. I got the feeling I'd just trespassed on a sensitive subject.**

"A _very _sensitive subject." Annabeth frowned. All of the demigods shifted on their seats.

The gods frowned. They didn't know that leaving the mortals had affected them that much.

**"My dad is a professor at West Point," she said. "I haven't seen him since I was very small. He teaches American history."**

**"He's human."**

**"What? You assume it has to be a male god who finds a human female attractive? How sexist is that?"**

"Very." The goddesses chorused. They agreed with Annabeth whole heartedly.

**"Who's your mom, then?"**

**"Cabin six."**

**"Meaning?"**

**Annabeth straightened. "Athena. Goddess of wisdom and battle."**

Athena smiled fondly at Annabeth.

**Okay, I thought. Why not?**

**"And my dad?"**

**"Undetermined," Annabeth said, "like I told you before. Nobody knows."**

**"Except my mother. She knew."**

Poseidon nodded.

**"Maybe not, Percy. Gods don't always reveal their identities."**

**"My dad would have. He loved her."**

Now Poseidon beamed. The other gods rolled their eyes at him. Some of the goddesses however smiled at him.

**Annabeth gave me a cautious look. She didn't want to burst my bubble.**

"I'm glad I didn't. Sally knew." Annabeth said.

Aphrodite raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said you didn't hang out with him?"

"I don't but I still know a little about him."

**"Maybe you're right. Maybe he'll send a sign. That's the only way to know for sure: your father has to send you a sign claiming you as his son. Sometimes it happens."**

**"You mean sometimes it doesn't?"**

**Annabeth ran her palm along the rail. "The gods are busy. They have a lot of kids and they don't always ... Well, sometimes they don't care about us, Percy. They ignore us."**

The other gods shifted under Hermes' glare.

**I thought about some of the kids I'd seen in the Hermes cabin, teenagers who looked sullen and depressed, as if they were waiting for a call that would never come. I'd known kids like that at Yancy Academy, shuffled off to boarding school by rich parents who didn't have the time to deal with them. But gods should behave better.**

They all smiled apologetically.

**"So I'm stuck here," I said. "That's it? For the rest of my life?"**

**"It depends," Annabeth said. "Some campers only stay the summer. If you're a child of Aphrodite or Demeter, you're probably not a real powerful force.**

Demeter and Aphrodite huffed.

"I resent that statement." Aphrodite said. "My children can be a very powerful force if I allow them."

Demeter agreed with Aphrodite.

"I mean," Aphrodite continued. "Just look at Piper. She's a great example."

Piper beamed at her mom.

**The monsters might ignore you, so you can get by with a few months of summer training and live in the mortal world the rest of the year. But for some of us, it's too dangerous to leave. We're year-rounders. In the mortal world, we attract monsters. They sense us. They come to challenge us. Most of the time, they'll ignore us until we're old enough to cause trouble about ten or eleven years old, but after that, most demigods either make their way here, or they get killed off. A few manage to survive in the outside world and become famous. Believe me, if I told you the names, you'd know them. Some don't even realize they're demigods. But very, very few are like that."**

**"So monsters can't get in here?"**

**Annabeth shook her head. "Not unless they're intentionally stocked in the woods or specially summoned by somebody on the inside."**

**"Why would anybody want to summon a monster?"**

**"Practice fights. Practical jokes."**

**"Practical jokes?"**

"And this," Katie frowned. "Is where the Hermes cabin comes in."

Travis and Connor stood up simultaneously and bowed.

**"The point is, the borders are sealed to keep mortals and monsters out. From the outside, mortals look into the valley and see nothing unusual, just a strawberry farm."**

**"So ... you're a year-rounder?"**

**Annabeth nodded. From under the collar of her T-shirt she pulled a leather necklace with five clay beads of different colors. It was just like Luke's, except Annabeth's also had a big gold ring strung on it, like a college ring.**

Athena gasped and looked at Annabeth's necklace. Sure enough the college ring was there.

"Isn't that your dad's?" Thalia asked Annabeth. She nodded.

**"I've been here since I was seven," she said. "Every August, on the last day of summer session, you get a bead for surviving another year. I've been here longer than most of the counselors, and they're all in college."**

"Wow." Piper said. "And now you've been there longer than anybody."

The rest of the gods looked at Annabeth's necklace. There were nine beads on there this time.

**"Why did you come so young?"**

**She twisted the ring on her necklace. "None of your business."**

**"Oh." I stood there for a minute in uncomfortable silence. "So ... I could just walk out of here right now if I wanted to?"**

**"It would be suicide, but you could, with Mr. D's or Chiron's permission. But they wouldn't give permission until the end of the summer session unless ..."**

**"Unless?"**

**"You were granted a quest. But that hardly ever happens. The last time..."**

**Her voice trailed off. I could tell from her tone that the last time hadn't gone well.**

She shook her head. The last time hadn't gone well at all.

**"Back in the sick room," I said, "when you were feeding me that stuff-"**

**"Ambrosia."**

**"Yeah. You asked me something about the summer solstice."**

**Annabeth's shoulders tensed. "So you do know some thing?"**

**"Well... no. Back at my old school, I overheard Grover and Chiron talking about it. Grover mentioned the summer solstice. He said something like we didn't have much time, because of the deadline. What did that mean?"**

**She clenched her fists.**

**"I wish I knew. Chiron and the satyrs, they know, but they won't tell me. Something is wrong in Olympus, something pretty major. **

"Extremely major." Zeus said looking a little alarmed. He brought out his master bolt and rubbed it in his hands and on his face.

Ares furrowed his eyebrows. "Do you sleep with that at night?"

"N-no." Zeus stuttered. "Why would you say that?"

"Because you're holding it like you do. And your face is getting red. And your hands are becoming sweaty. And-"

"That's enough Ares!" Zeus yelled.

Some of the gods broke out laughing. Thalia and Jason stared at Zeus in disbelief.

"You _sleep_ with your masterbolt." Thalia asked incredulous.

"N-no. I j-just thought I a-answered that question." Zeus stuttered.

The demigods burst out laughing. Zeus glared at everyone.

"You guys know that I'm video taping all of this right?" Hermes asked. That shut them all up right away.

"What?"

"I'm kidding." Hermes lied. He made it look convincing because he didn't want everyone to start acting correctly just because he was recording them.

**Last time I was there, everything seemed so normal."**

**"You've been to Olympus?"**

**"Some of us year-rounders Luke and Clarisse and I and a few others we took a field trip during winter solstice. That's when the gods have their big annual council."**

**"But... how did you get there?"**

**"The Long Island Railroad, of course. You get off at Penn Station. Empire State Building, special elevator to the six hundredth floor." She looked at me like she was sure I must know this already.**

Clarisse rolled her eyes. "Like he would know that."

**"You are a New Yorker, right?"**

**"Oh, sure." As far as I knew, there were only a hundred and two floors in the Empire State Building, but I decided not to point that out.**

Leo smiled. Percy was sarcastic.

**"Right after we visited," Annabeth continued, "the weather got weird, as if the gods had started fighting. A couple of times since, I've overheard satyrs talking. The best I can figure out is that something important was stolen.**

Several people snickered remembering that Zeus slept with his masterbolt.

**And if it isn't returned by summer solstice, there's going to be trouble. When you came, I was hoping ... I mean Athena can get along with just about anybody, except for Ares. And of course she's got the rivalry with Poseidon.**

Several demigods coughed, scratched their necks, and looked away. Connor and Travis pointed their elbows toward Annabeth. Annabeth rolled her eyes. She knew what they meant.

Apollo frowned. "Why are you guys coughing? Do you need some medicine or something?"

The demigods stopped coughing and Thalia said, "Oh no were fine. Continue Connor."

**But, I mean, aside from that, I thought we could work together. **

Insert coughing here.

**I thought you might know something."**

**I shook my head. I wished I could help her, but I felt too hungry and tired and mentally overloaded to ask any more questions.**

**"I've got to get a quest," Annabeth muttered to her self. "I'm not too young. If they would just tell me the problem-"**

**I could smell barbecue smoke coming from somewhere nearby. Annabeth must've heard my stomach growl. **

Artemis rolled her eyes. _When are boys never ruled by their stomachs?_

**She told me to go on, she'd catch me later.**

**I left her on the pier, tracing her finger across the rail as if drawing a battle plan.**

Several people snickered at this possibility.

**Back at cabin eleven, everybody was talking and horsing around, waiting for dinner. For the first time, I noticed that a lot of the campers had similar features: sharp noses, upturned eyebrows, mischievous smiles.**

Hermes smiled the same way.

**They were the kind of kids that teachers would peg as troublemakers.**

**Thankfully, nobody paid much attention to me as I walked over to my spot on the floor and plopped down with my minotaur horn.**

**The counselor, Luke, came over. He had the Hermes family resemblance, too. It was marred by that scar on his right cheek, but his smile was intact.**

**"Found you a sleeping bag," he said. "And here, I stole you some toiletries from the camp store."**

**I couldn't tell if he was kidding about the stealing part.**

"Nope." Connor and Travis said. Though they were frowning at the mention of Luke.

**I said, "Thanks." **

**"No prob." Luke sat next to me, pushed his back against the wall. "Tough first day?"**

**"I don't belong here," I said. "I don't even believe in gods."**

**"Yeah," he said. "That's how we all started. Once you start believing in them? It doesn't get any easier."**

**The bitterness in his voice surprised me, because Luke seemed like a pretty easygoing guy. He looked like he could handle just about anything.**

Almost all the half-bloods grimaced.

**"So your dad is Hermes?" I asked.**

**He pulled a switchblade out of his back pocket, and for a second I thought he was going to gut me, but he just scraped the mud off the sole of his sandal. "Yeah. Hermes."**

**"The wing-footed messenger guy."**

"Well thanks for the awesome description." Hermes rolled his eyes.

Dionysus turned to him. "Well at least you didn't get cherub in a trailer park as a description."

Several people snickered at him but some glared at him. He did make them drunk after all.

**"That's him. Messengers. Medicine. Travelers, merchants, thieves. Anybody who uses the roads. That's why you're here, enjoying cabin eleven's hospitality. Hermes isn't picky about who he sponsors."**

**I figured Luke didn't mean to call me a nobody. He just had a lot on his mind.**

Chris frowned. He was pretty sure Luke had meant to call Percy a nobody.

**"You ever meet your dad?" I asked.**

**"Once."**

Hermes, Annabeth, and Thalia grimaced remembering that meeting.

**I waited, thinking that if he wanted to tell me, he'd tell me. Apparently, he didn't. I wondered if the story had any thing to do with how he got his scar.**

"No." Hermes mumbled. He had no idea had Luke had ended up with that scar.

**Luke looked up and managed a smile. "Don't worry about it, Percy. The campers here, they're mostly good people. After all, we're extended family, right? We take care of each other."**

Nico's grimace increased. "It sounds more real when Percy says it." Thalia and Annabeth agreed.

"At least Percy actually means it." Thalia said.

Athena furrowed her eyebrows. "What's wrong in the future with Luke?"

"Everything." Clarisse replied. Chris held her close.

The deities glanced at each other.

Hermes' heart felt cold. He remembered what May had prophesized. He wasn't sure it would actually happen until now.

**He seemed to understand how lost I felt, and I was grateful for that, because an older guy like him even if he was a counselor should've steered clear of an uncool middle-schooler like me. But Luke had welcomed me into the cabin. He'd even stolen me some toiletries, which was the nicest thing anybody had done for me all day.**

**I decided to ask him my last big question, the one that had been bothering me all afternoon. "Clarisse, from Ares, was joking about me being 'Big Three' material. Then Annabeth ... twice, she said I might be 'the one.' She said I should talk to the Oracle. What was that all about?"**

**Luke folded his knife. "I hate prophecies."**

"So do we." The demigods chorused. The gods' frowned even more. What was going on in the future?

**"What do you mean?"**

**His face twitched around the scar. "Let's just say I messed things up for everybody else. The last two years, ever since my trip to the Garden of the Hesperides went sour,**

Hermes sat up. "So that's how he got his scar."

Annabeth nodded.

**Chiron hasn't allowed any more quests. Annabeth's been dying to get out into the world. She pestered Chiron so much he finally told her he already knew her fate. He'd had a prophecy from the Oracle. He wouldn't tell her the whole thing, but he said Annabeth wasn't destined to go on a quest yet. She had to wait until...somebody special came to the camp."**

**"Somebody special?"**

**"Don't worry about it, kid," Luke said. "Annabeth wants to think every new camper who comes through here is the omen she's been waiting for. **

"I take offense to that statement."

**Now, come on, it's dinnertime."**

**The moment he said it, a horn blew in the distance. Somehow, I knew it was a conch shell, even though I'd never heard one before.**

**Luke yelled, "Eleven, fall in!"**

**The whole cabin, about twenty of us, filed into the commons yard. We lined up in order of seniority, so of course I was dead last. Campers came from the other cabins, too, except for the three empty cabins at the end, and cabin eight, which had looked normal in the daytime, but was now starting to glow silver as the sun went down.**

Thalia and Artemis smiled.

**We marched up the hill to the mess hall pavilion. Satyrs joined us from the meadow. Naiads **

Some of the gods smiled and the goddesses frowned at them.

**emerged from the canoeing lake. A few other girls came out of the woods ****and when I say out of the woods, I mean straight out of the woods. I saw one girl, about nine or ten years old, melt from the side of a maple tree and come skipping up the hill.**

**In all, there were maybe a hundred campers, a few dozen satyrs, and a dozen assorted wood nymphs and naiads.**

**At the pavilion, torches blazed around the marble columns. A central fire burned in a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. Each cabin had its own table, covered in white cloth trimmed in purple. Four of the tables were empty, but cabin eleven's was way overcrowded. I had to squeeze on to the edge of a bench with half my butt hanging off.**

Again Hermes glared at the other gods.

**I saw Grover sitting at table twelve with Mr. D, a few satyrs, and a couple of plump blond boys who looked just like Mr. D.**

Dionysus smiled a little fondly.

**Chiron stood to one side, the picnic table being way too small for a centaur.**

**Annabeth sat at table six with a bunch of serious-looking athletic kids, all with her gray eyes and honey-blond hair.**

Katie turned to Annabeth. "You all _do_ look the same."

**Clarisse sat behind me at Ares's table. She'd apparently gotten over being hosed down, **

Clarisse frowned. "No I hadn't."

**because she was laughing and belching right alongside her friends.**

**Finally, Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble floor of the pavilion, and everybody fell silent. He raised a glass. "To the gods!"**

**Everybody else raised their glasses. "To the gods!"**

**Wood nymphs came forward with platters of food: grapes, apples, strawberries, cheese, fresh bread, and yes, barbecue! My glass was empty, but Luke said, "Speak to it. Whatever you want nonalcoholic, of course."**

**I said, "Cherry Coke."**

**The glass filled with sparkling caramel liquid.**

**Then I had an idea. "Blue Cherry Coke."**

**The soda turned a violent shade of cobalt.**

**I took a cautious sip. Perfect.**

**I drank a toast to my mother.**

Everyone smiled. Yes, even Clarisse and Ares have a soft spot.

**She's not gone, I told myself. Not permanently, anyway. She's in the Underworld. And if that's a real place, then someday...**

Hades grinned broadly, which made everyone shudder.

**"Here you go, Percy," Luke said, handing me a platter of smoked brisket.**

**I loaded my plate and was about to take a big bite when I noticed everybody getting up, carrying their plates toward the fire in the center of the pavilion.**

**I wondered if they were going for dessert or something.**

The demigods rolled their eyes.

"I wish." Nico said. He was salvating over the food that Percy had described.

Thalia scootched away from him so his spit wouldn't get on her.

**"Come on," Luke told me.**

**As I got closer, I saw that everyone was taking a portion of their meal and dropping it into the fire, the ripest straw berry, the juiciest slice of beef, the warmest, most buttery roll.**

**Luke murmured in my ear, "Burnt offerings for the gods. They like the smell."**

**"You're kidding."**

"Nope." Apollo smiled. "It actually smells pretty good."

**His look warned me not to take this lightly, but I couldn't help wondering why an immortal, all-powerful being would like the smell of burning food.**

Hermes shrugged. "Go figure."

They all turned to Nico who was shifting through a new stack of Mythomagic. "Because the gods eat too much ambrosia and enjoy smelling human food because they don't eat it that much. Or... because their cannibals that can't smell food that well unless it's burned so they make us burn it."

Katie shared a look with her mother then said. "Read on Connor."

**Luke approached the fire, bowed his head, and tossed in a cluster of fat red grapes. "Hermes."**

**I was next.**

**I wished I knew what god's name to say.**

**Finally, I made a silent plea. Whoever you are, tell me. Please.**

**I scraped a big slice of brisket into the flames.**

**When I caught a whiff of the smoke, I didn't gag.**

**It smelled nothing like burning food. It smelled of hot chocolate and fresh-baked brownies, hamburgers on the grill and wildflowers, and a hundred other good things that shouldn't have gone well together, but did. I could almost believe the gods could live off that smoke.**

"Ares tried that once." Hephaestus said. "He said he could make it a week. So we made it like a surviaval challenge and I filmed him on Hephaestus TV. On the third day, he collapsed of exhaustion and had to be rushed to Apollo. Again."

Clarisse raised an eyebrow at Ares.

Ares snorted. "Like you could do a better job."

Hephaestus rolled his eyes. "I have better things to do than to try to prove myself to peple I don't know."

Aphrodite looked at Hephaestus again. She admired how he didn't care what people said about him. She was seeing him in a new light. Literally. He was fixing a stage light while they were reading the book.

**When everybody had returned to their seats and finished eating their meals, Chiron pounded his hoof again for our attention.**

**Mr. D got up with a huge sigh.**

**"Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels."**

**A bunch of ugly cheering rose from the Ares table.**

Ares grinned.

**"Personally," Mr. D continued, "I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper today. Peter Johnson."**

Poseidon glared at Dionysus. All the campers rolled their eyes. Jason, Piper, and Leo remembered that Dionysus did that to everyone.

**Chiron murmured something.**

**"Er, Percy Jackson," Mr. D corrected. "That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on."**

**Everybody cheered. We all headed down toward the amphitheater, where Apollo's cabin led a sing-along.**

"When do they not lead the campfire." Rachel asked.

Clarisse smiled. "When they get cursed by my cabin."

Ares nodded in aprovement. Apollo frowned.

**We sang camp songs about the gods and ate s'mores and joked around, and the funny thing was, I didn't feel that anyone was staring at me anymore. I felt that I was home.**

**Later in the evening, when the sparks from the campfire were curling into a starry sky, the conch horn blew again, and we all filed back to our cabins. I didn't realize how exhausted I was until I collapsed on my borrowed sleeping bag.**

**My fingers curled around the Minotaur's horn. I thought about my mom, but I had good thoughts: her smile, the bedtime stories she would read me when I was a kid, the way she would tell me not to let the bedbugs bite.**

**When I closed my eyes, I fell asleep instantly.**

**That was my first day at Camp Half-Blood.**

**I wish I'd known how briefly I would get to enjoy my new home.**

"Oooh." Apollo said. "Foreshadowing the future."

The gods stood up. "We've got to get to work," Zeus said. "But you guys can stay here and explore the palace. Remember don't leave."

With that the gods flashed out.

Immediately all the demigods and Rachel stood up to go explore the palace.

* * *

><p><strong>That's it for today. Please review. Erudite19<strong>


	9. Exploring the Palace

**Here's chapter 9. Chapter 10 will come out either later on today or tomorrow. Count on it coming out tomorrow.**

The first place Connor and Travis went to: The Game Room. There was a wide selection of games and counsoles since the very first Pac-Man. The games and consoles were all numbered against the wall by year.

There was a giant wide screen tv on the wall opposite of the door so it occupied the entire wall. It had every output and input for a tv since 1958.

The first place Clarisse went was the Arena. Even though they weren't going to be back in their own time period for some time that didn't mean that they could let theirselves get rusty. She slashed and hacked at the practice dummy until Jason came in.

"Are you looking for a rematch?" Clarisse asked.

Jason smirked. "Your on."

Piper and Katie roamed the hallways. They had become a little closer since Piper had first gotten to the camp. Since Annabeth would have to go back to the mortal world from time to time to go to school Katie had taken over helping Piper. They stopped at a room full of dvds and cds and a projector like a movie theater. There were a few seats in the front and a snackbar in the back.

"You want to watch a movie?" Katie asked.

"Sure." Piper answered. "As long as it doesn't have my dad in it."

Katie smiled and pulled out a movie from the second shelf.

Rachel, Thalia, and Annabeth went to the third floor of the palace. Rahel and Thalia were checking out the rooms for something interesting to do while Annabeth was checking out the architecture. Thalia made sure to stay away from the balcony.

Annabeth stopped at a room with miniature clouds and hammocks. The floor looked like they were standing in the sky. "Hey guys, look at this."

Rachel and Thalia walked into the room.

"Wow..." Thalia gasped. She walked further into the room and looked around.

"It's like were floating in the air." Rachel said. Annabeth nodded in agreement.

Thalia furrowed her eyebrows. "Floating in the air..." She looked down and leaped onto one of the clouds. The floor was made to look like they were standing on top of New York. Miniature people ran underneath them. Annabeth pursed her lips to avoid laughing and Rachel smiled a little at Thalia.

"What?" Thalia demanded.

"Nothing."

Thalia looked down and realized she was sitting on top of one of the clouds. It was soft, plush, and comfortable. Despite her fear she laid down on the cloud and sighed. "This is incredible." All of the stress from her back that had been building for the past few years disappeared.

"You guys have to try this." Thalia insisted.

Rachel hesistantly laid down on one of the clouds. Her eyes widened and she sat up. "Wow. Annabeth you have to try this."

Annabeth thought for a minute and then said, "No thanks guys. I think I'm going to find a library..."

She faltered because at the very moment part of the room opened up and instead of clouds and a tiny new york beneath them, a hammock appeared and the tiny new york turned to the ocean's tide coming in and out. Rachel and Thalia gapped and then smiled. There was no way that Annabeth would leave now.

Annabeth stared for a minute and then walked towards the hammock. It was low and the tide lapped at it but it didn't get wet. When she laid on it all her worries disappeared. The tide lapped at her sides and her legs but she didn't get wet at all. Once or twice a big wave would come towards her but when it came near her she felt the sensation but didn't get wet. She didn't drown.

She smiled and said, "Maybe I'll stay here for a little while." Rachel and Thalia grinned at her knowing exactly why she said that.

Thalia looked at Annabeth, "Your own little slice of Percy."

"In a way... yeah."

Nico, Chris, and Leo had found a giant sauna on the far side of the palace. They sat in it, their robes covering their bodies and talked about Mythomagic. Well Chris and Nico talked about it. Leo mostly stayed quiet. He had heated the coals for them when the sauna hadn't worked correctly. Chris and Nico had marveled over the fact that he could control fire but after a while they had gone back to Mythomagic.

When the two started talking about Hermes, Nico had an idea.

He unsheathed his sword and tapped the ground with it. A skeleton grew out of it and bowed to Nico. Nico turned to face Chris and Leo who were gawking at the skeleton. He asked Chris, "Do you have a hat with wings attached to it?"

Chris turned his attention from the skeleton and gave Nico a hat that he pulled out of the pocket in his robes. Nico placed the hat on the skeleton. The skeleton suddenly became airborne and then came back down. Then Nico turned to Leo. "Can you give the skeleton fire so he can juggle it?"

Leo nodded but then asked, "Are you sure it will be able to juggle the fire?"

Nico nodded. "This is Houdini's skeleton."

Leo and Chris gapped at the skeleton. "Oh."

Leo created a fireball and threw it at Houdini's skeleton. The skeleton expertly caught it and started juggling while spinning in mid-air.

Leo grinned wildly. "That is so cool!" Chris and Nico agreed.

Chris shook his head. "And I thought your ideas were ridiculous."

Nico smirked.

Meanwhile the gods watched this intrigued. When they had flashed out they had gone to Hermes' palace. Hermes had led them to a room that had cameras set up all over the palace. Each god sat at a console and watched or searched for their child using the cameras or just looked through the cameras.

Hermes smiled when he saw Connor and Travis playing video games in the game room. Ares cheered on Clarisse when he saw her fighting against Jason.

Demeter and Aphrodite smiled when they saw their daughters watching a movie together. Hephaestus, Hermes, and Hades laughed when they saw their sons watching Houdini's skeleton with Hermes' cap playing with fire.

Athena couldn't find Annabeth. Artemis couldn't find Thalia. Apollo couldn't find Rachel. Suddenly Poseidon said, "I found Annabeth, Thalia, and Rachel."

"Where?" Apollo asked.

"They're in the room that changes between the elements of nature."

"Oh."

Hermes clicked a button and the three girls appeared on the screen. "Shhh. They're talking."

The gods could hear Annabeth make an excuse to go to the library but then she faltered when she saw part of the room change into the ocean with a hamock.

Athena raised an eyebrow when Annabeth laid down on the hamock.

"Athena," Hades began. "Why would your daughter like Poseidon's domain?"

"Shhh." Aphrodite whispered. "Their talking."

They heard Annabeth say, "Maybe I'll stay here for a little while."

Then they heard Thalia say, "Your own little slice of Percy."

Aphrodite wildly grinned at this. Some of the gods gasped.

Apollo grinned. "If she says yes I am never going to let it go Athena."

"In a way..." Annabeth said. "Yeah."

The other gods gasped while Aphrodite nearly shrieked.

Back in the room with Thalia, Annabeth, and Rachel.

Thalia, Annabeth, and Rachel sat up abruptly.

"Did you two hear that?" Thalia asked.

"It sounded like Aphrodite." Rachel said.

Annabeth shivered. "I can hear her shrieking all the way over here."

**That's chapter 9. Please review. It'll make me write faster. **


	10. We Capture a Flag

**Here's chapter 10. I would of updated yesterday but my laptop decided to act stupid and lose it's Wi-fi connection. I had to wait three hours for it to come back on and when it did it was ten at night. This is a really long chapter (longer than any of my other chapters by thousands of words) and I am only thirteen so I couldn't finish it on time to update the story yesterday. (Since I have pratically no way of knowing if your real or not I'm just going to say it: _Thank you, Hermes._) I hope (If he's real) he notices that that was sarcasm. Please review. It makes me write better.**

**This is going to be a really long chapter because I need to fill in some gaps. Paranoid Athena. :)**

* * *

><p>After about thirty seconds of shrieking, Aphrodite finally calmed down. Well somewhat. She was crying and sniffling and cooeing and...<p>

"Wait a minute," Poseidon said. "This does NOT mean anything."

"Yes." Athena agreed, which was a rare event because Athena rarely agrees with Poseidon. "Just because she says 'it's a little slice of Percy' does not mean that they're _together_. Thalia probably just said that because Percy's the son of Poseidon."

For _once _Athena wanted to listen to _part_ of her heart rather than her brain. The _part _of her heart she wanted to listen to was telling her: THERE'S NO WAY ON EARTH THAT ANNABETH IS WITH PERCY.

The part of her heart she didn't want to listen to was saying: I GUESS IT"S OKAY IF THEY'RE TOGETHER. IF SHE REALLY LOVES HIM AND HIM VICE VERSA THAN I SHOULD LEAVE THEM ALONE... GODS I SOUND LIKE APHRODITE.

_Her brain was pratically screaming, in fourteen different languages,:**OH MY FRICKIN' GODS**... They're together. There's no way they're not. It makes total sense. But just because she likes Poseidon's domain, and she seems a little worried about Percy, doesn't **exactly** mean they're together. They could just be really good friends._

_Oh sure, really good friends that make out all the time._

_Oh shut up._

_..._

_Great now I'm thinking to myself._

Poseidon was sweating so much at this possible revelation that he lost his cool. (Literally. Because Poseidon doesn't get sarcasm and thought I meant for him to increase his body temperature. **_Seriously_** people, get with the 21st century.)

His skin began to boil like one of those Japanese hot springs. He had no idea what to think what-so-ever. His mind was pratically blank. (Again literally because Poseidon _STILL_ doesn't get sarcasm. Huhhh... Connor and Travis are going to have to teach him that.)

Apollo was pratically smiling with glee. He took the camera from Hermes and pointed it right at Athena.

"Thena's kid dating,

Poseidon's kid dating too,

Together they are."

Artemis hit Apollo on the head with her hunting bow. "That was _the worst _haiku that you've ever made! If you're going to bother us with them you might as well make them good."

Hermes who was rubbing his hands like he won the lottery said, "I bet thirty drachmas and twenty aureus'(the ancient roman currency) that they're together."

He placed the money on the table. Apollo sided with Hermes and placed his money on the table.

"Wait a minute," Athena nearly shrieked. Her brain was going on overload. "We are not betting on whether they're together or not."

Dionysus shrugged. "I'm not an expert at love like Aphrodite but I heard a thing or two when you were all drunk so I'm going with what I think is best and I'm siding with Apollo and Hermes." He placed his money on the table.

Everyone gapped at him. "What?"

"You're _actually_ interested in this?" Zeus asked.

Dionysus merely shrugged again. "This is probably going to be the most gossip that we get on Olympus for a long time. If were going to get into it then I'm going to suck up _every_ moment of it. It does get boring on Olympus with Hera's strict rules. Besides, if you think about it, a son of _Poseidon_ dating a daughter of _Athena_ is very ironic but totally believable. We all should of seen it coming. Besides, if Poseidon and Athena are agreeing with each other on something it would only be smart to disagree with them."

Aphrodite sighed happily. "It's almost like Paris and Helen all over again."

Hades agreed. For once Dionysus was making very good sense. _And they pay Athena to be the Wisdom Goddess. Not that he would ever say that outloud._

"I agree with Dionysus." Hades said putting down his money.

"Sure," Demeter said. "I can either take the side that has the god who agrees with his son's crazy solutions and explanations. Or I can choose my side; which would be way more logical. I disagree." She placed her money on the opposite side of the table.

Artemis was a little surprised that Dionysus would say something like that. Then again, when you thought about it Dionysus was smart, he just didn't put much effort into it and that's why he remained the god of wine.

She knew that it was something that she would never do but she decided that for _once_ in her immortal life, she would _side with a bunch of boys._

She sighed. "I agree with Dionysus."

Some people raised an eyebrow at her. "Well Annabeth does seem to be worried about Percy alot and when they first met it _did_ seem like he had a crush on her. Why wouldn't they be together now?"

Hephaestus thought about it. It didn't seem like the daughter of Athena cared much for Percy. Then again she did lay down in Poseidon's domain. He thought about how Aphrodite had said that it was _almost_ like Paris and Helen all over again. Did that mean that there was going to be another war with the god's taking sides. Well one thing was sure; the gods were at this moment taking sides. In the original story, Paris and Helen fled still in love and caused a full fledged war. Maybe this time Paris and Helen- Percy and Annabeth would know what the outcome would be and split up to stop the war.

"I agree with Demeter." Hephaestus said.

Ares, who had no idea which side to choose and was still angry that Hephaestus had gotten a compliment from Aphrodite, wasn't about to have Hephaestus show him up again. He decided that the only way Hephaestus couldn't show him up was if he agreed with him, so he said, "I agree with Demeter."

Zeus, who knew how Poseidon and Athena were like and had no doubt that their children were the same, said, "I agree with Demeter." He placed his money on the table along with Ares.

Everyone looked to Poseidon and Athena, who were deep in thought.

"I vote to stay neutral." Athena said.

Poseidon merely nodded. He had no idea what to think. Then they all looked to Aphrodite who shrugged.

"I can't tell if they're together unless they're in the same room with each other or if it's revealed in the book. Since Percy's not here and I'm sure that they won't get together at twelve years old, the only way would be to ask Annabeth. Annabeth can't tell us because of the note we got before we started reading the story that warned them not to say anything about the future. So... we can only guess to her reactions or the other demigods' reactions_._

"I vote to stay neutral along with Poseidon and Athena because I'm pretty sure if I choose a side that you all might call off the bet."

Everyone groaned but they didn't provoke Aphrodite. She could be very tempermental.

Then they all left Hermes' palace and really _did_ go to their jobs this time.

* * *

><p>The demigods relaxed extremely in the short time that they had alone in the palace. Annabeth, Thalia, and Rachel ended up taking a short nap in the room that they had found and had woken up an hour later to go get something to eat.<p>

They hated sleeping in the day time and decided to only come back in the evening or when they needed time to think.

When they walked in the kitchen they found Travis, Connor, Nico, Leo, and Chris pigging out and stuffing food into their mouths. All five boys stopped what they were doing and looked up. Of course a cheeze doodle just had to fall out of Connor's mouth.

They all put their bags of chips down and finished what was in their mouths. Right on cue, Clarisse, Jason, Piper, and Katie came in and surveyed the mess.

"Wow..." Thalia said as she stepped over an open bag of Lay's. "When's the last time you guy's ate junk food?"

Connor wiped his mouth. "Eternity."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Well were not going to clean up your mess so...good luck with all of this." She gestured to the spilled Reeses Puffs on the floor. The other's agreed with her and went to a seperate part of the kitchen to make their own food. Soon everyone started to leave with their food to go to the dining room except for the five who were still stuffing their faces with food.

Piper turned around and said, "I'm sure the queen of the gods will have fun hunting you all down when she sees this mess."

"Yeah, right beauty queen." Leo said. "The queen of the gods is going to borrow a bow and arrows and a bunch of hunting knives from Artemis and try to track us down."

Piper raised an eybrow. "I'm not kidding Leo." Then she jumped over some spilled soda and walked out of the room.

At this the five glanced at each other. Then simultaneously they all started to scramble around with brooms and mops, yelling at each other over the smallest stain. When they all finished they walked into the dining room exhausted.

Nico raised his head, "I have total respect for women now."

"Oh," Clarisse said. "And why is that?"

"'Cause cleaning is like going through the fields of punishment. I'm surprised you can don all of that."

The other guys shivered.

* * *

><p>Later on after the gods flashed back into the palace, they called the demigods into the room to start reading.<p>

"**We Capture a Flag," **Rachel read.

"Woo!" Ares shouted. "Go Clarisse!" Nobody bothered to tell him that Clarisse didn't win. The demigods just snickered while Clarisse face-palmed.

**The next few days I settled into a routine that felt almost normal, if you don't count the fact that I was getting lessons from satyrs, nymphs, and a centaur.**

**Each morning I took Ancient Greek from Annabeth, **

Aphrodite smiled to herself. As long as they spent time with each other her plans would work perfectly.

**and we talked about the gods and goddesses in the present tense, which was kind of weird. **

"Well I don't think he would like it if we talked about him in the past tense when he's still living." Hephaestus muttered. Aphrodite nodded. Poseidon noticed that she was leaning a little more towards Hephaestus than to Ares. He pointed that out to the other gods.

"And I don't think it would matter." Ares said seethingly. He was starting to hate Hephaestus more and more.

The deities raised an eyebrow at this. Ares usually didn't get mad just for any reason. The demigods glanced at each other. They all knew what was going on. They expected a fight to occur soon.

**I discovered Annabeth was right **

"When am I ever wrong?" Annabeth mused.

Nico who decided that it was his job to provide an explanation to her question stood up and said, "Well you were wrong when you... no that's not it... well there's that time when... no not that either... well... oh, just forget it..." he whined.

Thalia rolled her eyes at him. "It's alright Nico. Nobody has a crazy explanation for everything."

He pouted. "But I do. At least I did."

He got up and walked to Hades because he was the only one who understood Nico's explanations. He sat on Hades' lap and said in a very innocent voice, "Hold me?"

Some of the demigods snickered because Nico looked down right serious. The gods just gaped at Nico.

Hades, who understood where Nico was coming from, sympathesized with him and patted his head. "It's okay son. Your imagination will come back soon."

Demeter just stared at Hades along with everyone else. Hades looked up and said, "What? At least I'm acting like a parent towards my son. What about you all?"

The other gods squirmed in their seats and Hades looked at Rachel. "Read Rachel."

**about my dyslexia: Ancient Greek wasn't that hard for me to read. At least, no harder than English.**

**After a couple of mornings, I could stumble through a few lines of Homer without too much headache.**

**The rest of the day, I'd rotate through outdoor activities, looking for something I was good at. Chiron tried to teach me archery,**

"Oh," Poseidon said. "That's not going to end well."

Annabeth and Thalia shivered. "No," Thalia grimaced. "It isn't."

**but we found out pretty quick I wasn't any good with a bow and arrow.**

**He didn't complain, even when he had to desnag a stray arrow out of his tail.**

Several people snickered when Rachel read this.

**Foot racing? No good either. The wood-nymph instructors left me in the dust. They told me not to worry about it. They'd had centuries of practice running away from lovesick gods. **

The 'lovesick gods' smiled in a daze at this. The goddesses rolled their eyes at this.

**But still, it was a little humiliating to be slower than a tree.**

"Wow." Leo said. "Slower than a tree. That's almost as weird as your explanations Nico."

Nico glared at him from where he was sitting on Hades lap and stuck his tongue at him.

**And wrestling? Forget it. Every time I got on the mat, Clarisse would pulverize me.**

Clarisse grinned evilly which made some people scootch away from her.

**"There's more where that came from, punk," she'd mumble in my ear.**

**The only thing I really excelled at was canoeing, **

"Of course." The gods mumbled.

**and that wasn't the kind of heroic skill people expected to see from the kid who had beaten the Minotaur.**

**I knew the senior campers and counselors were watching me, trying to decide who my dad was, but they weren't having an easy time of it. I wasn't as strong as the Ares kids, **

"Thank the gods." Ares mumbled.

Apollo grinned. "You're welcome."

Artemis rolled her eyes and smacked her brother on the head with her bow.

**or as good at archery as the Apollo kids.**

Apollo frowned. "I thought we went through that already."

**I didn't have Hephaestus's skill with metalwork**

"No. But if he ever meets a cyclopes they could teach him." Hephaestus muttered.

**or—gods forbid— Dionysus's way with vine plants. **

"Well," Dionysus said. "The feeling's mutual Perry."

"The feelings not mutual," Poseidon rolled his eyes. "Because it's Percy. Not Perry."

**Luke told me I might be a child of Hermes, a kind of jack-of-all-trades, master of none. **

Hermes frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" Nobody answered him. (But then again 'Nobody' isn't here so...)

**But I got the feeling he was just trying to make me feel better. He really didn't know what to make of me either.**

Chris shrugged. "None of us did."

**Despite all that, I liked camp. I got used to the morning fog over the beach, the smell of hot strawberry fields **

Connor winked at Travis.

**in the afternoon, even the weird noises of monsters in the woods at night. **

Leo frowned. "I never got used to that."

Thalia shrugged. "I did."

"Yeah, but you pratically live in the woods so..."

"Dude," Travis snickered. "You just kinda called Thalia a woodland creature."

Connor snickered with Travis and then looked at Leo. "Thalia, daughter of Zeus, Lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis, and woodland creature."

Several people snickered until Travis and Connor got shocked with lightning.

Leo's eyes bugged out. "I didn't mean it like that, honest. I just meant that since you're with the hunters that you-"

Thalia raised a hand and rolled her eyes. "I know what you mean Leo. Keep reading Rachel."

**I would eat dinner with cabin eleven, scrape part of my meal into the fire, and try to feel some connection to my real dad. Nothing came.**

**Just that warm feeling I'd always had, like the memory of his smile. I tried not to think too much about my mom, but I kept wondering: if gods and monsters were real, if all this magical stuff was possible, surely there was some way to save her, to bring her back...**

Hades and Nico both chuckled darkly which actually scared all of the gods. They both looked scary and maniacal like they could enter your dreams at night and scare you. Which they could.

Katie found herself agreeing with her mom wholeheartedly. Although maybe there was a way to save Nico. It was obvious that it was too late for Hades.

**I started to understand Luke's bitterness and how he seemed to resent his father, Hermes.**

Hermes sighed. "They always start to feel like that don't they?"

He turned to Dionysus who shrugged. "I get complaints every week."

The demigods shifted in their seats and couldn't meet the gods' eyes.

**So okay, maybe gods had important things to do.**

"Yes."

**But couldn't they call once in a while, or thunder, or something? **

**Dionysus could make Diet Coke appear out of thin air. **

Poseidon sighed. "We _could_ if a certain person hadn't made that stupid law."

Almost all the gods glared at Zeus.

**Why couldn't my dad, whoever he was, make a phone appear?**

All of the Olympians sighed.

**Thursday afternoon, three days after I'd arrived at Camp Half-Blood, I had my first sword-fighting lesson. Everybody from cabin eleven gathered in the big circular arena, where Luke would be our instructor.**

**We started with basic stabbing and slashing, using some straw-stuffed dummies in Greek armor. I guess I did okay. At least, I understood what I was supposed to do and my reflexes were good.**

**The problem was, I couldn't find a blade that felt right in my hands. Either they were too heavy, or too light, or too long.**

**Luke tried his best to fix me up, but he agreed that none of the practice blades seemed to work for me.**

Thalia smiled. "Imagine what he could do with a balanced blade."

"It's too bad he wasn't good at first," Clarisse said. "He could've taken cared of Luke for us."

The others nodded.

Zeus sat up. "What does that mean?"

Apollo groaned. "Don't try to find out. They'll all go quiet. The only way we can find out is if we read."

**We moved on to dueling in pairs. Luke announced he would be my partner, since this was my first time.**

**"Good luck," one of the campers told me. "Luke's the best swordsman in the last three hundred years."**

All the demigods except for Jason, Piper, and Leo snorted.

The deities raised an eyebrow at this.

**"Maybe he'll go easy on me," I said.**

**The camper snorted.**

**Luke showed me thrusts and parries and shield blocks the hard way. With every swipe, I got a little more battered and bruised. "Keep your guard up, Percy," he'd say, then whap me in the ribs with the flat of his blade. "No, not that far up!" **_**Whap! **_**"Lunge!" **_**Whap! **_**"Now, back!" **_**Whap!**_

Hermes grinned.

**By the time he called a break, I was soaked in sweat. Everybody swarmed the drinks cooler. Luke poured ice water on his head, which looked like such a good idea, I did the same.**

Now Hermes frowned and Poseidon grinned wildly. Thalia smirked. She still hadn't forgiven Luke for everything.

**Instantly, I felt better. Strength surged back into my arms. The sword didn't feel so awkward.**

**"Okay, everybody circle up!" Luke ordered. "If Percy doesn't mind, I want to give you a little demo."**

**Great, I thought. Let's all watch Percy get pounded.**

Travis stood up. "Oh! I love that show."

Connor said. "Yeah, it was pretty funny."

Obviously they hadn't learned from the lightning shock that Thalia had given them because then Poseidon blasted them with ice cold water.

They stood up like they had been zapped and yelped. Travis stood there shivering while Connor, who ovbiously had a death wish, ran to Hephaestus and hugged his legs. Immediately he became warm and dry. He sighed and passed out on the floor.

Hephaestus raised an eyebrow while the demigods snickered.

**The Hermes guys gathered around. They were suppressing smiles. I figured they'd been in my shoes before and couldn't wait to see how Luke used me for a punching bag. He told everybody he was going to demonstrate a disarming technique: how to twist the enemy's blade with the flat of your own sword so that he had no choice but to drop his weapon.**

**"This is difficult," he stressed. "I've had it used against me. No laughing at Percy, now. Most swordsmen have to work years to master this technique."**

**He demonstrated the move on me in slow motion. Sure enough, the sword clattered out of my hand.**

**"Now in real time," he said, after I'd retrieved my weapon. "We keep sparring until one of us pulls it off. Ready, Percy?"**

**I nodded, and Luke came after me. Somehow, I kept him from getting a shot at the hilt of my sword. My senses opened up. I saw his attacks coming. I countered. I stepped forward and tried a thrust of my own. Luke deflected it easily, but I saw a change in his face. His eyes narrowed, and he started to press me with more force.**

**The sword grew heavy in my hand. The balance wasn't right.**

**I knew it was only a matter of seconds before Luke took me down, so I figured, What the heck?**

**I tried the disarming maneuver.**

**My blade hit the base of Luke's and I twisted, putting my whole weight into a downward thrust.**

**Luke's sword rattled against the stones.**

"Yes!" Poseidon roared startling everyone. "In your face Hermes." He did a little victory dance while everyone snickered at Hermes' expression.

**The tip of my blade was an inch from his undefended chest.**

**The other campers were silent.**

Travis who was still soaking wet said, "That's when the show went bad." He got blasted with hot water this time.

He yelped and went to hug Hades' legs. Hades' furrowed his eyebrows. "Why are you hugging my legs?"

Travis looked up innocently. "Don't you have a cold heart?"

Nico looked up. "No, it's actually warm."

Hades rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers. Skeletons rose out of the ground and grabbed Travis who was almost dry. Travis started to yelp like a little girl over and over which made some people laugh. It started to get annoying so one of the skeletons clapped his hand over Travis' mouth which scared him so much that he fainted.

**I lowered my sword. "Um, sorry."**

**For a moment, Luke was too stunned to speak.**

**"Sorry?" His scarred face broke into a grin. "By the gods, Percy, why are you sorry? Show me that again!"**

**I didn't want to. The short burst of manic energy had completely abandoned me. But Luke insisted.**

**This time, there was no contest. The moment our swords connected, Luke hit my hilt and sent my weapon skidding across the floor.**

**After a long pause, somebody in the audience said, "Beginner's luck?"**

**Luke wiped the sweat off his brow. He appraised at me with an entirely new interest. "Maybe," he said. "But I wonder what Percy could do with a balanced sword..."**

**Friday afternoon, I was sitting with Grover at the lake, resting from a near-death experience on the climbing wall.**

Several of the gods chuckled and rolled their eyes.

Travis woke up and looked down at himself. "Oh, it was just a dream." Then the skeletons looked at him and he continued yelping.

"Aaah!... Aaah!... Aaah!-" he fainted again.

**Grover had scampered to the top like a mountain goat, but the lava had almost gotten me. My shirt had smoking holes in it. The hairs had been singed off my forearms.**

Leo smirked. "Fried fish." The demigods chuckled and Poseidon huffed.

**We sat on the pier, watching the naiads do underwater basket-weaving, until I got up the nerve to ask Grover how his conversation had gone with Mr. D.**

**His face turned a sickly shade of yellow.**

**"Fine," he said. "Just great."**

**"So your career's still on track?"**

**He glanced at me nervously. "Chiron t-told you I want a searcher's license?"**

**"Well... no." I had no idea what a searcher's license was, but it didn't seem like the right time to ask.** **"He just said you had big plans, you know ... and that you needed credit for completing a keeper's assignment. So did you get it?"**

**Grover looked down at the naiads. "Mr. D suspended judgment. He said I hadn't failed or succeeded with you yet, so our fates were still tied together. If you got a quest and I went along to protect you, and we both came back alive, then maybe he'd consider the job complete."**

**My spirits lifted. "Well, that's not so bad, right?"**

_**"Blaa-ha-ha!**_ **He might as well have transferred me to stable-cleaning duty. The chances of you getting a quest... and even if you did, why would you want **_**me **_**along?"**

**"Of course I'd want you along!"**

Aphrodite cooed. "Percy's so sweet that there's no way that you can add sugar to him."

Some of the gods rolled their eyes and Ares said. "Yeah, but I'm way sweeter aren't I?"

Aphrodite raised an eyebrow at him. She considered it for a moment. "Hephaestus maybe, but you no."

Ares gapped at Aphrodite. She rested her head on Hephaestus' shoulder. Hephaestus looked at her for a moment and then smiled. "Thanks." For a moment Hephaestus' face flickered and changed into something more handsome until it changed back. Some of the gods raised an eyebrow at this and the demigods gaped at the couple.

"Now wait a minute-" Ares started to get up until Zeus glared at him. Zeus enjoyed the fact that Aphrodite and Hephaestus were getting along more. That's how a married couple should be. _Oh great. Now I sound like Hera. I guess she's rubbing off of me a little._

"Read Rachel." Zeus said.

**Grover stared glumly into the water. "Basket-weaving ... Must be nice to have a useful skill."**

Piper raised an eybrow at this. "Grover has almost no self-esteem."

"We need to knock some into him when we get back." Clarisse grinned.

"I hope you don't mean literally." Annabeth stated.

**I tried to reassure him that he had lots of talents, but that just made him look more miserable. We talked about canoeing and swordplay for a while, then debated the pros and cons of the different gods. Finally, I asked him about the four empty cabins.**

**"Number eight, the silver one, belongs to Artemis," he said. "She vowed to be a maiden forever. So of course, no kids. The cabin is, you know, honorary. If she didn't have one, she'd be mad."**

Artemis shrugged. "That's kind of true but my hunters do need somewhere to stay when they visit."

**"Yeah, okay. But the other three, the ones at the end. Are those the Big Three?"**

**Grover tensed. We were getting close to a touchy subject. "No. One of them, number two, is Hera's," he said. "That's another honorary thing. She's the goddess of marriage, so of course she wouldn't go around having affairs with mortals.**

"If she did then we'd know that the end of the world would be coming." Katie said.

Everyone agreed whole heartedly.

"Besides," Nico said. "Zeus knows what some of the kids at camp would do if Hera had a kid."

Thunder rang around the palace. Everyone looked at Zeus who raised an eyebrow.

"Okay," Nico reconsidered. "Strike that. _Zeus_ doesn't even know."

**That's her husband's job. **

Zeus huffed while everyone else snickered.

**When we say the Big Three, we mean the three powerful brothers, the sons of Kronos."**

Everyone shivered at the mention of Kronos.

**"Zeus, Poseidon, Hades."**

The said brothers grinned smugly.

**"Right. You know. After the great battle with the Titans, they took over the world from their dad and drew lots to decide who got what."**

**"Zeus got the sky," I remembered. "Poseidon the sea, Hades the Underworld."**

**"Uh-huh."**

**"But Hades doesn't have a cabin here."**

"I _should._" Hades complained. "I _do_ have a growing boy here." He gestured at Nico on his lap who nodded furiously.

The other gods squirmed a little.

Nico stood up in his father's lap and whispered in his ear, "Don't worry about that. They'll see your point soon."

Hades grinned and whispered, "Really?"

Nico nodded. "You'll find out how when we finish reading the books."

Nico sat down on his lap again and found everyone staring at them. He sighed and said, "Continue Rachel."

**"No. He doesn't have a throne on Olympus, either. **

Hades snorted.

**He sort of does his own thing down in the Underworld. If he did have a cabin here ..." Grover shuddered. "Well, it wouldn't be pleasant. Let's leave it at that."**

Nico frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" He was still a little upset that he hadn't had an explanation for Annabeth yet.

No answer.

**"But Zeus and Poseidon—they both had, like, a bazillion kids in the myths. Why are their cabins empty?"**

Piper grinned. "They're not anymore. Well at least one of them."

"Yeah," Poseidon said. "With Jason at the roman camp and Thalia with the hunters Zeus' cabin is empty while mines has Percy in it."

The demigods shared a glance and just nodded at Poseidon. He would find out soon enough.

**Grover shifted his hooves uncomfortably.**

**"About sixty years ago, after World War II, the Big Three agreed they wouldn't sire any more heroes.**

Athena rolled her eyes. "Look how long _that_ lasted."

Hades glared at Zeus and Poseidon.

**Their children were just too powerful. They were affecting the course of human events too much, causing ****too much carnage. World War II, you know, that was basically a fight between the sons of Zeus and Poseidon on one side, and the sons of Hades on the other. The winning side, Zeus and Poseidon, made Hades swear an oath with them: no more affairs with mortal women. They all swore on the River Styx."**

**Thunder boomed.**

Like it did now.

**I said, "That's the most serious oath you can make."**

**Grover nodded.**

**"And the brothers kept their word—no kids?"**

Everyone except for Zeus and Poseidon scoffed. "Yeah right."

"Oh great." Thalia sighed. "Here comes my story."

Zeus' expression darkened a little.

Connor woke up. "Ooh! Story time."

**Grover's face darkened. "Seventeen years ago, Zeus fell off the wagon.**

"Like he always does." Demeter stated. Zeus stared at her and she stared back daring him to say something. Zeus is her little brother. He would do well to shut his trap.

**There was this TV starlet with a big fluffy eighties hairdo—he just couldn't help himself. **

"Oh yeah," Connor said while combing his hair and wiggling his eyebrows. "The eighties chicks are always hot."

Everyone rolled their eyes at him except Zeus who said fondly, "Yeah."

...

Poseidon and Hades started laughing uncontrollably.

"What's wrong Zeus?" Hades asked. "Still not over your eighties chick?"

"I bet you every time he goes to visit her he wears a fake afro." Poseidon continued.

"Yeah," Apollo joined in. "And a wrist band that says 'Stick it to the Man'."

At this everyone burst out laughing.

"I do not!" Zeus yelled. After everyone finished laughing Nico turned to Connor with a confused look on his face.

"Where'd you get the comb?"

Connor looked at him in confusion. "What comb?"

"The one in your hand."

Connor looked down at his hand and furrowed his eyebrows. "I-I don't know."

**When their child was born, a little girl named Thalia... well, the River Styx is serious about promises. Zeus himself got off easy because he's immortal, but he brought a terrible fate on his daughter."**

Thalia sighed. Everyone was looking at her with sympathy. "I don't need your pity. Read Rachel."

**"But that isn't fair. It wasn't the little girl's fault."**

**Grover hesitated. "Percy, children of the Big Three have powers greater than other half-bloods.** **They have a strong aura, a scent that attracts monsters. When Hades found out about the girl, he wasn't too happy about Zeus breaking his oath. Hades let the worst monsters out of Tartarus to torment Thalia. **

Zeus glared at Hades. Nico who felt like he had to stick up for his father said, "Oh, let it go Zeus."

"Excuse me? Hades control your boy."

"Nico-" Hades started.

"No!" Nico stood up on his father's lap. "Zeus is always taking it out on you for Thalia and I agree that you do deseve it sometimes-"

"Nico where is this going? Your making it worst." Hades whispered.

"I'm not done yet." Nico turned to Zeus. "You should let it go because even though my father did do something bad to Thalia you did something almost as bad to him."

"Oh," Zeus said seethingly. "And what is that?"

Nico jumped from where he was sitting on Hades and walked up to Zeus. Zeus stepped down and shrunk to human size to meet him.

"Do you remember Maria di Angelo, Zeus? Do you?" Nico asked threatingly. "I dare you to forget what you did to her." His voice was oozing with sarcasm and hate. Hades' expression got gloomy.

Zeus took a step back at this reminder. He stared at Nico for a second and then went back to his seat. Everyone else raised an eyebrow at this. Zeus had never stepped down from somebody except for maybe Poseidon. But here he was stepping down from a mortal, a demigod.

"No." Nico muttered. "I didn't think so."

He turned around and went back to sit on Hades' lap. The minute he sat down he put his head against his father's chest and told Rachel to read.

The others glanced at each other wondering what Nico had meant. They had never seen him so angry. Rachel decided to read. It would be best not to provoke Nico.

**A satyr was assigned to be her keeper when she was twelve, but there was nothing he could do.**

**He tried to escort her here with a couple of other half-bloods she'd befriended. They almost made it. They got all the way to the top of that hill."**

**He pointed across the valley, to the pine tree where I'd fought the minotaur. "All three Kindly Ones were after them, along with a horde of hellhounds. They were about to be overrun when Thalia told her satyr to take the other two half-bloods to safety while she held off the monsters. **

Thalia ran her hand through her hair shakily.

**She was wounded and tired, and she didn't want to live like a hunted animal. The satyr didn't want to leave her, but he couldn't change her mind, and he had to protect the others. So Thalia made her final stand alone, at the top of that hill. As she died,**

Thalia took a shaky breath.

**Zeus took pity on her. He turned her into that pine tree. Her spirit still helps protect the borders of the valley. That's why the hill is called Half-Blood Hill."**

**I stared at the pine in the distance.**

**The story made me feel hollow, and guilty too. A girl my age had sacrificed herself to save her friends. She had faced a whole army of monsters. Next to that, my victory over the Minotaur didn't seem like much.**

Athena shook her head. It hadn't seemed much like a victory. Annabeth didn't care if it was a victory or not, she was just glad that Percy had made it out safe. She snapped herself back to reality because Rachel had kept reading.

Aphrodite sat up a little. Somebody was emanating a giant wave of love. She was about to zero in on who it was when all of a sudden it stopped. Whoever had been emanating that wave had stopped. She thought it might be Chris and Clarisse but this wave was much more different than what she had felt for those two.

**I wondered, if I'd acted differently, could I have saved my mother?**

"Probably not." Poseidon muttered.

**"Grover," I said, "Have heroes really gone on quests to the Underworld?"**

**"Sometimes," he said. "Orpheus. Hercules. Houdini."**

Leo grinned. "We met his skeleton this morning."

"What?"

Hades perked up a little at this. He, Hermes, and Hephaestus, who remembered what had happened, suppressed their giggles so that the demigods couldn't find out that they had had been spying on them.

Nico smiled a little. "It was so cool. We made him look like Hermes and juggle fire."

Chris smiled. "He juggled the fire in mid-air."

Everyone looked at them funny.

"You guys are so wierd." Piper said.

**"And have they ever returned somebody from the dead?"**

**"No. Never. Orpheus came close... . Percy, you're not seriously thinking—"**

**"No," I lied.**

Hermes looked at Poseidon. "I like your son."

In response Poseidon rolled his eyes.

**"I was just wondering. So ... a satyr is always assigned to guard a demigod?"**

**Grover studied me warily. I hadn't persuaded him that I'd really dropped the Underworld idea. "Not always. We go undercover to a lot of schools. We try to sniff out the half-bloods who have the makings of great heroes. If we find one with a very strong aura, like a child of the Big Three, we alert Chiron. He tries to keep an eye on them, since they could cause really huge problems."**

"That's an understatement." Annabeth muttered.

Nico and Thalia glared at her while Jason shrugged.

"It is true." Piper said.

"Yeah." Leo said. "It's hard work just _trying_ to keep Jason alive."

**"And you found me. Chiron said you thought I might be something special."**

"This is only helping his ego." Katie stated.

"I know." Annabeth groaned.

Apollo raised an eyebrow at Annabeth and then grinned at Athena who glanced worriedly to Poseidon.

Hermes, Dionysus, Hades, and Artemis smiled while Hephaestus, Ares, Zeus, and Demeter frowned.

After a couple minutes of silence the gods realized that Rachel wasn't reading. They looked at the demigods who were staring at them confused.

"What are you all doing?" Annabeth asked.

Some of the gods widened their eyes. They all glanced at each other and realized that it would only be a matter of time before Annabeth figured it all out.

Hermes shrugged. "Nothing important. Keep reading."

**Grover looked as if I'd just led him into a trap. "I didn't... Oh, listen, don't think like that. If you _were_**—**you know—you'd never _ever _be allowed a quest, and I'd never get my license. You're probably a child of Hermes. **

**Or maybe even one of the minor gods, like Nemesis, the god of revenge. Don't worry, okay?"**

Artemis raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure that Nemesis is a goddess."

"It's a good thing that she won't read this then." Apollo smiled.

**I got the idea he was reassuring himself more than me.**

**That night after dinner, there was a lot more excitement than usual.**

**At last, it was time for capture the flag.**

Ares grinned wildly.

**When the plates were cleared away, the conch horn sounded and we all stood at our tables.**

**Campers yelled and cheered as Annabeth and two of her siblings ran into the pavilion carrying a silk banner. It was about ten feet long, glistening gray, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree. **

Annabeth smirked.

**From the opposite side of the pavilion, Clarisse and her buddies ran in with another banner, of identical size, but gaudy red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head.**

Clarisse smiled a little.

**I turned to Luke and yelled over the noise, "Those are the flags?"**

**"Yeah."**

**"Ares and Athena always lead the teams?"**

**"Not always," he said. "But often."**

**"So, if another cabin captures one, what do you do— repaint the flag?"**

**He grinned. "You'll see. First we have to get one."**

**"Whose side are we on?"**

**He gave me a sly look, as if he knew something I didn't. The scar on his face made him look almost evil in the torchlight. **

"He probably wasn't playing about looking evil." Travis said with a grimace.

"Yeah," Connor said. "He probably knew about the attack too."

"What attack?" Poseidon asked.

"You'll find out really soon." Annabeth grimaced. She remembered the hellhound attack. She looked up and found Apollo wiggling his eyebrows at her mom.

"Apollo? Are you hitting on my mom?" She asked incredulous.

"What?" Apollo blushed. "No!"

The other gods grinned at Apollo and supressed their laughter while Athena just looked horrified.

**"We've made a temporary alliance with Athena. Tonight, we get the flag from Ares. And _you _are going to help."**

**The teams were announced. Athena had made an alliance with Apollo and Hermes, the two biggest cabins. ****Apparently, privileges had been traded—shower times, chore schedules, the best slots for activities—in order to win support.**

Athena smiled. That was a very smart idea that Annabeth had planned.

**Ares had allied themselves with everybody else: Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus. From what I'd seen, Dionysus's kids were actually good athletes, but there were only two of them. Demeter's kids had the edge with nature skills and outdoor stuff but they weren't very aggressive. Aphrodite's sons and daughters I wasn't too worried about. They mostly sat out every activity and checked their reflections in the lake and did their hair and gossiped. **

"Which is basically what Aphrodite does most of the time." Hermes said.

**Hephaestus's kids weren't pretty, and there were only four of them, but they were big and burly from working in the metal shop all day. They might be a problem.**

Hephaestus smiled. It wasn't that his kids might be a problem. It was that they were going to be a problem.

**That, of course, left Ares's cabin: a dozen of the biggest, ugliest, meanest kids on Long Island, or anywhere else on the planet.**

"That's partially true." Aphrodite said. Athena and Artemis agreed that it was true.

"Oh," Ares said. He was fed up with Aphrodite leaning towards Hephaestus and insulting him. "You think my kids are _ugly_?"

Aphrodite stared at him incredulous.

"Well I got news for you, _Aphrodite_. _Your_ kids are ugly." Everyone gasped. Piper looked offended and Aphrodite started to get red and mad.

She stood up and everyone scootched a little bit away from her. An angry goddess is not good. "For your information _Ares,_ I was talking about how mean your kids can be. I never said they were _ugly_. Clarisse is a very good example. She can be mean but she's _not _ugly. The next time you want to say something think about it first."

Piper was proud at her mom for telling off Ares.

Ares opened and closed his mouth like a fish. He tried to apologize but Aphrodite said, "Read Rachel."

She leaned on Hephaestus' shoulder and after a moment of hesitation he put an arm around her to comfort her.

**Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble.**

**"Heroes!" he announced. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"**

**He spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly covered with equipment: helmets, bronze swords, spears, oxhide shields coated in metal.**

**"Whoa," I said. "We're really supposed to use these?"**

**Luke looked at me as if I were crazy. "Unless you want to get skewered by your friends in cabin five. Here—Chiron thought these would fit. You'll be on border patrol."**

**My shield was the size of an NBA backboard, with a big caduceus in the middle. It weighed about a million pounds. I could have snowboarded on it fine, **

The Stolls grinned. They didn't announce their thoughts though because the others wouldn't allow it.

**but I hoped nobody seriously expected me to run fast. My helmet, like all the helmets on Athena's side, had a blue horsehair plume on top. Ares and their allies had red plumes.**

**Annabeth yelled, "Blue team, forward!"**

**We cheered and shook our swords and followed her down the path to the south woods. The red team yelled taunts at us as they headed off toward the north.**

**I managed to catch up with Annabeth without tripping over my equipment. "Hey."**

**She kept marching.**

"Ooh. Rejection." Nico said. Annabeth glared at him momentarily and the other demigods snickered a little. If Aphrodite didn't know that there was something going on between Annabeth and Percy then she sure did now.

**"So what's the plan?" I asked. "Got any magic items you can loan me?"**

**Her hand drifted toward her pocket, as if she were afraid I'd stolen something.**

When everyone looked at Annabeth she said, "I thought that he was a son of Hermes. Poseidon hadn't claimed him yet."

**"Just watch Clarisse's spear," she said. "You don't want that thing touching you. Otherwise, don't worry. We'll take the banner from Ares. Has Luke given you your job?"**

**"Border patrol, whatever that means."**

**"It's easy. Stand by the creek, keep the reds away. Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan."**

Thalia smiled a little. "You always say that."

Annabeth shrugged. "'Cause it's true."

**She pushed ahead, leaving me in the dust.**

"Ooh. Rejec-" Nico stopped because at the time Annabeth was examining her knife.

**"Okay," I mumbled. "Glad you wanted me on your team."**

**It was a warm, sticky night. The woods were dark, with fireflies popping in and out of view_. _Annabeth stationed me next to a little creek that gurgled over some rocks, then she and the rest of the team scattered into the trees.**

**Standing there alone, with my big blue-feathered helmet and my huge shield, I felt like an idiot. The bronze sword, like all the swords I'd tried so far, seemed balanced wrong. The leather grip pulled on my hand like a bowling ball.**

**There was no way anybody would actually attack me, would they? I mean, Olympus had to have liability issues, right?**

"Oh. Sure." Apollo said. "Our motto is: If you die we'll clean your cabin for you."

"No it isn't." Artemis said. "It's: don't be a sap when you're dying."

"Seriously?" Katie asked. But Artemis just smiled and told Rachel to keep reading.

**Far away, the conch horn blew. I heard whoops and yells in the woods, the clanking of metal, kids fighting. A blue-plumed ally from Apollo raced past me like a deer, leaped through the creek, and disappeared into enemy territory.**

**Great, I thought. I'll miss all the fun, as usual.**

**Then I heard a sound that sent a chill up my spine, a low canine growl, somewhere close by.**

**I raised my shield instinctively; I had the feeling some thing was stalking me.**

**Then the growling stopped. I felt the presence retreating.**

Poseidon frowned.

**On the other side of the creek, the underbrush exploded. Five Ares warriors came yelling and screaming out of the dark.**

**"Cream the punk!" Clarisse screamed.**

Clarisse smiled a little.

**Her ugly pig eyes glared through the slits of her helmet. She brandished a five-foot-long spear, its barbed metal tip flickering with red light. Her siblings had only the standard-issue bronze swords—not that that made me feel any better.**

**They charged across the stream. There was no help in sight. I could run. Or I could defend myself against half the Ares cabin.**

**I managed to sidestep the first kid's swing, but these guys were not as stupid as the Minotaur. **

"If they were then it would be stupid for them to be the kids of the god of war." Athena stated.

**They surrounded me, and Clarisse thrust at me with her spear. My shield deflected the point, but I felt a painful tingling all over my body. My hair stood on end. My shield arm went numb, and the air burned.**

**Electricity. Her stupid spear was electric. **

Ares grinned forgetting his whole ordeal with Aphrodite.

**I fell back.**

**Another Ares guy slammed me in the chest with the butt of his sword and I hit the dirt.**

**They could've kicked me into jelly, but they were too busy laughing.**

**"Give him a haircut," Clarisse said. "Grab his hair."**

Poseidon glared at Clarisse but she shrugged it off.

**I managed to get to my feet. I raised my sword, but Clarisse slammed it aside with her spear as sparks flew. Now both my arms felt numb.**

**"Oh, wow," Clarisse said. "I'm scared of this guy. Really scared."**

**"The flag is that way," I told her. **

Ares smiled. "Thanks alot Prissy. Now we can win."

Clarisse face-palmed. The other demigods snickered.

"I assume it didn't work that way?" Jason asked looking at Clarisse's face.

The others nodded but Ares didn't see anything.

**I wanted to sound angry, but I was afraid it didn't come out that way.**

"Nope." Clarisse stated.

**"Yeah," one of her siblings said. "But see, we don't care about the flag. We care about a guy who made our cabin look stupid."**

**"You do that without my help," I told them. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say.**

"No."

**Two of them came at me. I backed up toward the creek, **

"Good." Poseidon grinned.

**tried to raise my shield, but Clarisse was too fast. Her spear stuck me straight in the ribs. If I hadn't been wearing an armored breastplate, I would've been shish-kebabbed. **

**As it was, the electric point just about shocked my teeth out of my mouth. One of her cabinmates slashed his sword across my arm, leaving a good-size cut.**

**Seeing my own blood made me dizzy—warm and cold at the same time.**

**"No maiming," I managed to say.**

**"Oops," the guy said. "Guess I lost my dessert privilege."**

Poseidon huffed. Nico looked up. "I wouldn't want to lose my desert privileges."

**He pushed me into the creek and I landed with a splash.**

Poseidon grinned wildly now.

**They all laughed. I figured as soon as they were through being amused, I would die. But then something happened. The water seemed to wake up my senses, as if I'd just had a bag of my mom's double-espresso jelly beans.**

Connor began to drool at the thought of jelly beans.

**Clarisse and her cabinmates came into the creek to get me, but I stood to meet them. I knew what to do. I swung the flat of my sword against the first guy's head and knocked his helmet clean off. I hit him so hard I could see his eyes vibrating as he crumpled into the water.**

Jason raised an eyebrow at this.

**Ugly Number Two and Ugly Number Three came at me. I slammed one in the face with my shield and used my sword to shear off the other guy's horsehair plume. Both of them backed up quick. Ugly Number Four didn't look really anxious to attack, but Clarisse kept coming, the point of her spear crackling with energy. As soon as she thrust, I caught the shaft between the edge of my shield and my sword, and I snapped it like a twig.**

"Ah!" Ares screamed. "That idiot! That corpse-breath worm!"

"Excuse me?" Poseidon demanded.

"Nothing."

**"Ah!" she screamed. "You idiot! You corpse-breath worm!"**

Everyone snorted. "Wow." Piper said.

**She probably would've said worse, but I smacked her between the eyes with my sword-butt and sent her stumbling backward out of the creek.**

Now Poseidon grinned smugly at Clarisse, who sighed. Jason was impressed that Percy could do that. Now he knew that there was no way he couldn't make it at the roman camp.

**Then I heard yelling, elated screams, and I saw Luke racing toward the boundary line with the red team's banner lifted high. He was flanked by a couple of Hermes guys covering his retreat, and a few Apollos behind them, fighting off the Hephaestus kids. **

Hermes smiled.

**The Ares folks got up, and Clarisse muttered a dazed curse.**

**"A trick!" she shouted. "It was a trick."**

**They staggered after Luke, but it was too late. Everybody converged on the creek as Luke ran across into friendly territory. Our side exploded into cheers. The red banner shimmered and turned to silver. The boar and spear were replaced with a huge caduceus, the symbol of cabin eleven. Everybody on the blue team picked up Luke and started carrying him around on their shoulders. Chiron cantered out from the woods and blew the conch horn.**

**The game was over. We'd won.**

**I was about to join the celebration when Annabeth's voice, right next to me in the creek, said, "Not bad, hero."**

**I looked, but she wasn't there.**

**"Where the heck did you learn to fight like that?" she asked. The air shimmered, and she materialized, holding a Yankees baseball cap as if she'd just taken it off her head.**

**I felt myself getting angry. I wasn't even fazed by the fact that she'd just been invisible. "You set me up," I said. "You put me here because you knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke around the flank. You had it all figured out."**

Athena beamed at Annabeth. "That was smart."

Annabeth blushed and smiled. She wasn't used to getting compliments from her mother.

"Ahah!" Nico jumped off of Hades' lap. "You were wrong to leave Percy alone. I found something a Annabeth chase was wrong at. Yes!" He fist-pumped.

The other's rolled their eyes at him. "Well, at least Nico's back to normal." Thalia stated.

**Annabeth shrugged. "I told you. Athena always, always has a plan."**

**"A plan to get me pulverized."**

Annabeth shrugged nonchalantly. "It worked."

Athena sighed. Maybe her daughter wasn't with the son of Poseidon.

**"I came as fast as I could. I was about to jump in, but ..." She shrugged. "You didn't need help."**

**Then she noticed my wounded arm. "How did you do that?"**

**"Sword cut," I said. "What do you think?"**

**"No. It _was _a sword cut. Look at it."**

Leo raised an eyebrow. "The water heals him."

Poseidon nodded.

**The blood was gone. Where the huge cut had been, there was a long white scratch, and even that was fading. As I watched, it turned into a small scar, and disappeared.**

**"I—I don't get it," I said.**

**Annabeth was thinking hard.**

"When is she never?"

**I could almost see the gears turning. She looked down at my feet, then at Clarisse's broken spear, and said, "Step out of the water, Percy."**

**"What—"**

**"Just do it."**

**I came out of the creek and immediately felt bone tired. My arms started to go numb again. My adrenaline rush left me. I almost fell over, but Annabeth steadied me.**

"You're his maiden in a beige dress." Connor stated.

"What?"

"Well instead of knight in shining armor because Annabeth is a girl I said, 'you're his maiden in a beige dress'."

Annabeth face-palmed while the others chuckled. Now both Hermes and Apollo were wiggling their eyebrows at Athena.

**"Oh, Styx," she cursed. "This is _not _good. I didn't want... I assumed it would be Zeus..."**

Zeus huffed and glared at Annabeth. "Well most of the time it is." Annabeth said gesturing at Thalia and Jason.

**Before I could ask what she meant, I heard that canine growl again, but much closer than before. A howl ripped through the forest.**

Everyone in the room tensed.

**The campers' cheering died instantly. Chiron shouted something in Ancient Greek, which I would realize, only later, I had understood perfectly: "_Stand ready_!_ My bow_!"**

**Annabeth drew her sword.**

**There on the rocks just above us was a black hound the size of a rhino, with lava-red eyes and fangs like daggers.**

"Wow." Nico said. "I never thought about it that way."

**It was looking straight at me.**

Poseidon sighed. "Oh, great."

**Nobody moved except Annabeth, who yelled, "Percy, run!"**

"See, you are his maiden in a beige dress."

**She tried to step in front of me, but the hound was too fast. It leaped over her—an enormous shadow with teeth—and just as it hit me, as I stumbled backward and felt its razor-sharp claws ripping through my armor, there was a cascade of thwacking sounds, like forty pieces of paper being ripped one after the other. From the hounds neck sprouted a cluster of arrows. The monster fell dead at my feet.**

**By some miracle, I was still alive. I didn't want to look underneath the ruins of my shredded armor. My chest felt warm and wet, and I knew I was badly cut. Another second, and the monster would've turned me into a hundred pounds of delicatessen meat.**

**Chiron trotted up next to us, a bow in his hand, his face grim.**

**_"Di immortales!"_** **Annabeth said. "That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment. They don't... they're not supposed to..."**

**"Someone summoned it," Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp."**

**Luke came over, the banner in his hand forgotten, his moment of glory gone.**

**Clarisse yelled, "It's all Percy's fault! Percy summoned it!"**

Everyone looked at Clarisse with an expression like, Are you serious?

She shrugged and said, "I was angry and ready to get him kicked out of camp. My anger clouded my better judgement."

**"Be quiet, child," Chiron told her.**

**We watched the body of the hellhound melt into shadow, soaking into the ground until it disappeared.**

**"You're wounded," Annabeth told me. "Quick, Percy, get in the water."**

**"I'm okay."**

**"No, you're not," she said. "Chiron, watch this."**

**I was too tired to argue. I stepped back into the creek, the whole camp gathering around me.**

**Instantly, I felt better. I could feel the cuts on my chest closing up. Some of the campers gasped.**

**"Look, I—I don't know why," I said, trying to apologize. "I'm sorry..."**

**But they weren't watching my wounds heal. They were staring at something above my head.**

Leo gasped. "He's claimed."

Everyone else nodded.

**"Percy," Annabeth said, pointing. "Um ..."**

**By the time I looked up, the sign was already fading, but I could still make out the hologram of green light, spinning and gleaming. A three-tipped spear: a trident.**

**"Your father," Annabeth murmured. "This is _really _not good."**

"It wasn't." Annabeth remembered. Some of the gods raised an eyebrow at this. Hades smirked at Athena and Poseidon.

**"It is determined," Chiron announced.**

**All around me, campers started kneeling, even the Ares cabin, though they didn't look happy about it.**

"We weren't." Clarisse said.

**"My father?" I asked, completely bewildered.**

**"Poseidon," said Chiron. "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."**

"Percy sounds really powerful when you say it like that." Travis commented.

"Percy is very powerful." Thalia rolled her eyes.

* * *

><p><em><strong>That<strong>_** was long. No promises that I'll update tomorrow. I have alot of things to do. **

**Check out my new story: "When the Time Is Right"**

**Erudite19**


	11. I Am Offered A Quest

**Chapter 11 is finally done. Check out my other story called, "When the Time Is Right." **

* * *

><p>Rachel held out the book. "That was the end of the chapter. Who's reading next?"<p>

"I'll read." Katie volunteered. Rachel gave her the book.

"**I Am Offered a Quest," **

Ares sighed exasperated. "Finally...We get some real action."

Aphrodite muttered something in Hephaestus' ear. Hephaestus cleared his throat.

"Aphrodite says: It's bad enough that Percy almost got mauled, and now you're talking about how there hasn't been some real action in this story?"

Ares raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Yes..."

Aphrodite rolled her eyes.

Athena turned to Aphrodite, a little hesistant though because she didn't know if Aphrodite was still mad about the comment that Ares had made earlier. "Not to offend you or anything but why do you care if Percy is alright?"

"If he did die," Aphrodite replied. "Wouldn't it ruin _everything_ you all talked about this morning?" The other gods agreed with Aphrodite.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean _'everything'_? What did you all talk about this morning?"

Hermes turned to Annabeth. "Like I said before, nothing important. Keep reading Katie."

Annabeth looked away but she didn't let it go. Something was up.

**The next morning, Chiron moved me to cabin three.**

**I didn't have to share with anybody. I had plenty of room for all my stuff: the Minotaur's horn, one set of spare clothes, and a toiletry bag. I got to sit at my own dinner table, pick all my own activities, call "lights out" whenever I felt like it, and not listen to anybody else.**

"That sounds okay." Leo stated. Thalia, Jason, and Nico snorted.

"Yeah." Jason said. "It _sounds_ okay. Doesn't mean it is."

**And I was absolutely miserable.**

"That's how I feel in my cabin alone." Nico said.

**Just when I'd started to feel accepted, to feel I had a home in cabin eleven and I might be a normal kid—or as normal as you can be when you're a half-blood—I'd been separated out as if I had some rare disease.**

**Nobody mentioned the hellhound, but I got the feeling they were all talking about it behind my back.**

Connor rolled his eyes. "So maybe we were talking about it. But it was mostly the Aphrodite cabin who spread the gossip."

Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "It's in the nature of my kids to do that."

"All of your kids except for beauty queen over here." Leo said. He pointed at Piper right before he got punched in the shoulder.

"I told you not to call me that anymore." Piper stated.

Leo huffed. "See. She would rather punch me than spread gossip."

Ares furrowed his eyebrows. "That makes no sense."

Aphrodite's expression turned mad and she whispered into Hephaestus' ear. Hephaestus cleared his throat again and said, "Aphrodite says that her kids aren't your business."

"What does that mean?" Ares asked offended. "Why won't you talk to me?"

**The attack had scared everybody. It sent two messages: one; that I was the son of the Sea God; and two, monsters would stop at nothing to kill me. They could even invade a camp that had always been considered safe.**

"So it happened two times then." Thalia sighed.

Annabeth nodded.

"What?" The gods demanded.

"Did we mention that the future was screwed?" Nico commented.

**The other campers steered clear of me as much as possible. **

**Cabin eleven was too nervous to have sword class with me after what I'd done to the Ares folks in the woods, so my lessons with Luke became one-on-one. He pushed me harder than ever, and wasn't afraid to bruise me up in the process.**

**"You're going to need all the training you can get," he promised, as we were working with swords and flaming torches. "Now let's try that viper-beheading strike again. Fifty more repetitions."**

Nico grimaced. "Wow. And I thought that the undead teachers were strict."

Leo stared at Nico. "You train with the undead."

"Yeah. And let me tell you, even Bellorophon isn't that bad."

**Annabeth still taught me Greek in the mornings, but she seemed distracted. Every time I said something, she scowled at me, as if I'd just poked her between the eyes.**

**After lessons, she would walk away muttering to herself: "Quest ... Poseidon? ... Dirty rotten ... Got to make a plan …"**

The demigods chuckled at this a bit. Demeter smirked at Dionysus. She knew that Annabeth wasn't with Percy. Dionysus just shrugged it off. He was certain he was right about Annabeth and Percy because he heard Annabeth say it when she was drunk and when you're drunk almost all the things you say are the truth.

**Even Clarisse kept her distance, though her venomous looks made it clear she wanted to kill me for breaking her magic spear. I wished she would just yell or punch me or something. I'd rather get into fights every day than be ignored.**

Clarisse looked surprised. "I wish he would have told me that. I wouldn't have hesitated a single bit."

The others laughed at the expression on her face.

**I knew somebody at camp resented me, because one night I came into my cabin and found a mortal newspaper dropped inside the doorway, a copy of the **_**New York Daily News, **_**opened to the Metro page. The article took me almost an hour to read, because the angrier I got, the more the words floated around on the page.**

_**BOY AND MOTHER STILL MISSING AFTER**_ _**FREAK CAR ACCIDENT**_

_**BY EILEEN SMYTHE**_

_**Sally Jackson and son Percy are still missing one week after their mysterious disappearance. The family's badly burned '78 Camaro was discovered last Saturday on a north Long Island road with the roof ripped off and the front axle broken.**_

_**The car had flipped and skidded for several hundred feet before exploding.**_

_**Mother and son had gone for a weekend vacation to Montauk, but left hastily, under mysterious circumstances. Small traces of blood were found in the car and near the scene of the wreck, but there were no other signs of the missing Jacksons. Residents in the rural area reported seeing nothing unusual around the time of the accident.**_

_**Ms. Jackson's husband, Gabe Ugliano, **_

Aphrodite frowned at the mention of Gabe.

_**claims that his stepson, Percy Jackson, is a troubled child who has been kicked out of numerous boarding schools and has expressed violent tendencies in the past.**_

_**Police would not say whether son Percy is a suspect in his mother's disappearance, but they have not ruled out foul play. Below are recent pictures of Sally Jackson and Percy. Police urge anyone with information to call the following toll-free crime-stoppers hotline.**_

**The phone number was circled in black marker.**

**I wadded up the paper and threw it away, then flopped down in my bunk bed in the middle of my empty cabin.**

**"Lights out," I told myself miserably.**

**That night, I had my worst dream yet.**

**I was running along the beach in a storm. This time, there was a city behind me. Not New York. The sprawl was different: buildings spread farther apart, palm trees and low hills in the distance.**

Hermes thought for a second. "Isn't that Los Angeles?"

Apollo grinned wildly. "Yeah..."

The others thought it best not to provoke him.

**About a hundred yards down the surf, two men were fighting. They looked like TV wrestlers, muscular, with beards and long hair. Both wore flowing Greek tunics, one trimmed in blue, the other in green. **

**They grappled with each other, wrestled, kicked and head-butted, and every time they connected, lightning flashed, the sky grew darker, and the wind rose.**

Hermes smirked. "I didn't know you two were wrestlers."

Hephaestus looked up. "That would be great for Hephaestus TV."

"Yeah," Aphrodite agreed. "But by the look on Zeus and Poseidon's face I don't think they would do that."

Ares shrugged. "It was a stupid idea any way."

Aphrodite whispered in Hephaestus' ear. Hephaestus cleared his throat and looked at Ares. "Aphrodite says: It's not a stupid idea. It would bring in a lot of raitings for Hephaestus TV."

Hephaestus nodded. Ares looked at Aphrodite. "What's with you? Why won't you talk to me?"

Aphrodite looked at Ares with narrowed eyes and replied seethingly. "Figure it out yourself."

**I had to stop them. I didn't know why. But the harder I ran, the more the wind blew me back, until I was running in place, my heels digging uselessly in the sand.**

**Over the roar of the storm, I could hear the blue-robed one yelling at the green-robed one, **_**Give it back! Give it back! **_**Like a kindergartner fighting over a toy.**

Everyone chuckled at this possibility.

**The waves got bigger, crashing into the beach, spraying me with salt.**

**I yelled, **_**Stop it! Stop fighting!**_

**The ground shook. Laughter came from somewhere under the earth, and a voice so deep and evil it turned my blood to ice**_**.**_

Everyone turned to Hades. "Oh come on. My laugh is many things. Maybe creepy or dark but it certainly does not sound evil."

Athena shivered. "Let's hope it is Hades."

_**Come down, little hero, **_**the voice crooned. **_**Come down!**_

**The sand split beneath me, opening up a crevice straight down to the center of the earth. My feet slipped, and darkness swallowed me.**

"That sounds like what happened to Persephone." Katie said.

"Except this time it isn't Hades." Annabeth said darkly.

The deities glanced at each other. This was not good at all.

**I woke up, sure I was falling.**

**I was still in bed in cabin three. My body told me it was morning, but it was dark outside, and thunder rolled across the hills. A storm was brewing. I hadn't dreamed that.**

**I heard a clopping sound at the door, a hoof knocking on the threshold.**

**"Come in?"**

**Grover trotted inside, looking worried. "Mr. D wants to see you."**

**"Why?"**

**"He wants to kill... I mean, I'd better let him tell you."**

Piper rolled her eyes. "That doesn't help at all."

Connor and Travis face-palmed. "Oh, Grover."

**Nervously, I got dressed and followed, sure that I was in huge trouble.**

**For days, I'd been half expecting a summons to the Big House. Now that I was declared a son of Poseidon, one of the Big Three gods who weren't supposed to have kids, I figured it was a crime for me just to be alive.**

"Tell me about it." Thalia said. Nico could relate to her, though not completely.

**The other gods had probably been debating the best way to punish me for existing, and now Mr. D was ready to deliver their verdict.**

Apollo shrugged. "It's not like we would hurt you inside of Camp Half-Blood. That would be plain cruel."

**Over Long Island Sound, the sky looked like ink soup coming to a boil. **

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "That's a weird way of describing it."

**A hazy curtain of rain was coming in our direction. I asked Grover if we needed an umbrella.**

**"No," he said. "It never rains here unless we want it to."**

**I pointed at the storm. "What the heck is that, then?"**

**He glanced uneasily at the sky. "It'll pass around us. Bad weather always does."**

**I realized he was right. In the week I'd been here, it had never even been overcast. The few rain clouds I'd seen had skirted right around the edges of the valley.**

**But this storm ... this one was huge.**

**At the volleyball pit, the kids from Apollo's cabin were playing a morning game against the satyrs. Dionysus's twins were walking around in the strawberry fields, making the plants grow. Everybody was going about their normal business, but they looked tense. They kept their eyes on the storm.**

**Grover and I walked up to the front porch of the Big House. Dionysus sat at the pinochle table in his tiger-striped Hawaiian shirt with his Diet Coke, just as he had on my first day. Chiron sat across the table in his fake wheel chair. They were playing against invisible opponents-two sets of cards hovering in the air.**

**"Well, well," Mr. D said without looking up. "Our little celebrity."**

**I waited.**

**"Come closer," Mr. D said. "And don't expect me to bow to you, mortal, just because old Barnacle-Beard is your father."**

Poseidon looked at Dionysus. "Really, Barnacle-Beard?"

Dionysus shrugged. "I got it from Athena."

**A net of lightning flashed across the clouds. Thunder shook the windows of the house.**

**"Blah, blah, blah," Dionysus said.**

**Chiron feigned interest in his pinochle cards. Grover cowered by the railing, his hooves clopping back and forth.**

**"If I had my way," Dionysus said, "I would cause your molecules to erupt in flames. We'd sweep up the ashes and be done with a lot of trouble. **

Poseidon glared at Dionysus.

"Well, obviously I didn't! Apparently I _don't_ have my way."

**But Chiron seems to feel this would be against my mission at this cursed camp: to keep you little brats safe from harm."**

**"Spontaneous combustion **_**is **_**a form of harm, Mr. D," Chiron put in.**

**"Nonsense," Dionysus said. "Boy wouldn't feel a thing. Nevertheless, I've agreed to restrain myself. I'm thinking of turning you into a dolphin instead, sending you back to your father."**

"How would you like it if I turned you into a bowl of grapes and sent you to Zeus?" Poseidon said.

Dionysus' eyes bugged out.

**"Mr. D—" Chiron warned.**

**"Oh, all right," Dionysus relented. "There's one more option. But it's deadly foolishness." Dionysus rose, and the invisible players' cards dropped to the table. "I'm off to Olympus for the emergency meeting. If the boy is still here when I get back, I'll turn him into an Atlantic bottlenose. Do you understand? And Perseus Jackson, if you're at all smart, you'll see that's a much more sensible choice than what Chiron feels you must do."**

"Then he's not very smart." Annabeth concluded. Athena agreed.

Poseidon face-palmed. "He's going to go on the quest isn't he?"

Annabeth nodded.

**Dionysus picked up a playing card, twisted it, and it became a plastic rectangle. A credit card? No. A security pass.**

**He snapped his fingers.**

**The air seemed to fold and bend around him. He became a hologram, then a wind, then he was gone, leaving only the smell of fresh-pressed grapes lingering behind.**

**Chiron smiled at me, but he looked tired and strained. "Sit, Percy, please. And Grover."**

**We did.**

**Chiron laid his cards on the table, a winning hand he hadn't gotten to use.**

"That's probably why Dionysus left early." Hermes smiled.

**"Tell me, Percy," he said. "What did you make of the hellhound?"**

**Just hearing the name made me shudder.**

**Chiron probably wanted me to say, **_**Heck, it was nothing. I eat hellhounds for breakfast.**_

The half-bloods looked surprised. Katie snorted. "Yeah right."

**But I didn't feel like lying.**

"Good."

**"It scared me," I said. "If you hadn't shot it, I'd be dead."**

**"You'll meet worse, Percy. Far worse, before you're done."**

**"Done ... with what?"**

**"Your quest, of course. Will you accept it?"**

**I glanced at Grover, who was crossing his fingers.**

"Grover must really want multiple chances to die." Chris said.

"That's a new one." Nico agreed. "A satyr who wants to die."

**"Um, sir," I said, "you haven't told me what it is yet."**

**Chiron grimaced. "Well, that's the hard part, the details."**

**Thunder rumbled across the valley. The storm clouds had now reached the edge of the beach. As far as I could see, the sky and the sea were boiling together.**

**"Poseidon and Zeus," I said. "They're fighting over something valuable ... something that was stolen, aren't they?"**

Many people looked away and surpressed their laughter while Zeus rubbed his master bolt.

Travis stood up and shrugged the skeletons off. He ran behind Katie while whimpering.

Connor smiled at Travis. Nico gasped and looked at Zeus. "Do you have nightmares at night?"

Zeus looked at Nico confused. "Yes, sometimes. Why?"

"Well if you sleep with that then to ward of the nightmares don't you sometimes smite people in your sleep?"

Zeus furrowed his eyebrows. "I-I don't know."

Hades gasped. "That would explain why Hera looks like she's been hit by lightning every morning. And I thought it was because-"

Artemis' eyes opened. "Hades! We have children here."

The demigod's ears turned red. They all new what Hades was talking about.

Leo turned a sickly color of green. "I think I'm going to barf."

**Chiron and Grover exchanged looks.**

**Chiron sat forward in his wheelchair. "How did you know that?"**

**My face felt hot. I wished I hadn't opened my big mouth. "The weather since Christmas has been weird, like the sea and the sky are fighting. Then I talked to Annabeth, and she'd overheard something about a theft.**

**And ... I've also been having these dreams."**

**"I knew it," Grover said.**

**"Hush, satyr," Chiron ordered.**

**"But it is his quest!" Grover's eyes were bright with excitement. "It must be!"**

**"Only the Oracle can determine." **

Apollo saddened at the mention of the Oracle.

**Chiron stroked his bristly beard. "Nevertheless, Percy, you are correct. Your father and Zeus are having their worst quarrel in centuries. They are fighting over something valuable that was stolen. To be precise: a lightning bolt."**

**I laughed nervously. "A **_**what**_**?"**

**"Do not take this lightly," Chiron warned. "I'm not talking about some tinfoil-covered zigzag you'd see in a second-grade play. I'm talking about a two-foot-long cylinder of high-grade celestial bronze, capped on both ends with god-level explosives."**

**"Oh."**

"Oh." Zeus said incredulous. "That's all he can say about my master bolt?" His voice got a little squeky at the end so no one bothered to answer.

**"Zeus's master bolt," Chiron said, getting worked up now. "The symbol of his power, from which all other lightning bolts are patterned. The first weapon made by the Cyclopes for the war against the Titans, the bolt that sheered the top off Mount Etna and hurled Kronos from his throne; the master bolt, which packs enough power to make mortal hydrogen bombs look like firecrackers."**

Zeus grinned wildly.

"F-firecrackers?" Leo asked amazed.

**"And it's missing?"**

**"Stolen," Chiron said.**

**"By who?"**

"By _whom_." Athena stated.

**"By **_**whom**_**," Chiron corrected.**

**Once a teacher, always a teacher.**

"Isn't that right." Hermes said glancing at Athena.

Athena glared at him and he shivered.

**"By you."**

**My mouth fell open.**

**"At least"—Chiron held up a hand—"that's what Zeus thinks. During the winter solstice, at the last council of the gods, Zeus and Poseidon had an argument.**

Demeter sighed. "You always have an argument."

Hades rolled his eyes. "And it's always about the same nonsense."

**The usual nonsense: 'Mother Rhea always liked you best,' 'Air disasters are more spectacular than sea disasters,' etcetera. **

All of the gods besides Zeus and Poseidon sighed.

**Afterward, Zeus realized his master bolt was missing, taken from the throne room under his very nose. He immediately blamed Poseidon. **

Poseidon frowned. "Like he always does."

**Now, a god cannot usurp another god's symbol of power directly—that is forbidden by the most ancient of divine laws. But Zeus believes your father convinced a human hero to take it."**

**"But I didn't—"**

"No." Poseidon said. "But Zeus won't believe that will he?"

Zeus huffed at Poseidon.

**"Patience and listen, child," Chiron said. "Zeus has good reason to be suspicious. The forges of the Cyclopes are under the ocean, which gives Poseidon some influence over the makers of his brother's lightning. Zeus believes Poseidon has taken the master bolt, and is now secretly having the Cyclopes build an arsenal of illegal copies, which might be used to topple Zeus from his throne.**

Zeus frowned at Poseidon. "Oh come on. You don't actually believe that do you? That's an insane idea."

**The only thing Zeus wasn't sure about was which hero Poseidon used to steal the bolt. Now Poseidon has openly claimed you as his son. You were in New York over the winter holidays. You could easily have snuck into Olympus. Zeus believes he has found his thief."**

**"But I've never even been to Olympus! Zeus is crazy!"**

Thunder rolled around the palace.

**Chiron and Grover glanced nervously at the sky. The clouds didn't seem to be parting around us, as Grover had promised. They were rolling straight over our valley, sealing us in like a coffin lid.**

"His thoughts are so morbid." Thalia stated.

"Just like Poseidon's." Artemis stated.

**"Er, Percy ...?" Grover said. "We don't use the **_**c**_**-word to describe the Lord of the Sky."**

**"Perhaps **_**paranoid," **_**Chiron suggested. **

Zeus frowned.

**"Then again, Poseidon has tried to unseat Zeus before. I believe that was question thirty-eight on your final exam..." He looked at me as if he actually expected me to remember question thirty-eight.**

The demigods looked at Annabeth. She sighed. "I've never even taken his quiz."

**How could anyone accuse me of stealing a god's weapon? I couldn't even steal a slice of pizza from Gabe's poker party without getting busted. **

Hermes frowned. "On second thought, I'm not so sure I still like your son."

Everyone ignored him.

**Chiron was waiting for an answer.**

**"Something about a golden net?" I guessed. "Poseidon and Hera and a few other gods ... they, like, trapped Zeus and wouldn't let him out until he promised to be a better ruler, right?"**

Zeus huffed.

**"Correct," Chiron said. "And Zeus has never trusted Poseidon since. **

"No."

**Of course, Poseidon denies stealing the master bolt. He took great offense at the accusation. The two have been arguing back and forth for months, threatening war. And now, you've come along—the proverbial last straw."**

**"But I'm just a kid!"**

**"Percy," Grover cut in, "if you were Zeus, and you already thought your brother was plotting to overthrow you, then your brother suddenly admitted he had broken the sacred oath he took after World War II, that he's fathered a new mortal hero who might be used as a weapon against you... Wouldn't that put a twist in your toga?"**

Everyone chuckled. "That's so weird." Chris commented.

**"But I didn't do anything. Poseidon—my dad—he didn't really have this master bolt stolen, did he?"**

**Chiron sighed. "Most thinking observers would agree that thievery is not Poseidon's style. But the Sea God is too proud to try convincing Zeus of that. Zeus has demanded that Poseidon return the bolt by the summer solstice. That's June twenty-first, ten days from now. Poseidon wants an apology for being called a thief by the same date. I hoped that diplomacy might prevail, that Hera or Demeter or Hestia would make the two brothers see sense. But your arrival has inflamed Zeus's temper. Now neither god will back down. Unless someone intervenes, unless the master bolt is found and returned to Zeus before the solstice, there will be war. And do you know what a full-fledged war would look like, Percy?"**

**"Bad?" I guessed.**

**"Imagine the world in chaos. Nature at war with itself. Olympians forced to choose sides between Zeus and Poseidon. Destruction. Carnage. Millions dead. Western civilization turned into a battleground so big it will make the Trojan War look like a water-balloon fight."**

Ares grinned while Athena grimaced. "That's horrible/great."

The two glared at each other.

**"Bad," I repeated.**

"Ha!" Athena said while Ares frowned.

**"And you, Percy Jackson, would be the first to feel Zeus's wrath."**

**It started to rain. Volleyball players stopped their game and stared in stunned silence at the sky.**

_**I **_**had brought this storm to Half-Blood Hill. Zeus was punishing the whole camp because of me. I was furious.**

**"So I have to find the stupid bolt," **

"My master bolt is _not_ stupid!"

**I said. "And return it to Zeus."**

**"What better peace offering," Chiron said, "than to have the son of Poseidon return Zeus's property?"**

**"If Poseidon doesn't have it, where is the thing?"**

**"I believe I know." Chiron's expression was grim. "Part of a prophecy I had years ago ... well, some of the lines make sense to me, now. But before I can say more, you must officially take up the quest. You must seek the counsel of the Oracle."**

**"Why can't you tell me where the bolt is beforehand?"**

**"Because if I did, you would be too afraid to accept the challenge."**

**I swallowed. "Good reason."**

**"You agree then?"**

**I looked at Grover, who nodded encouragingly.**

**Easy for him. I was the one Zeus wanted to kill.**

Some of the demigods chuckled.

**"All right," I said. "It's better than being turned into a dolphin."**

Dionysus pouted.

**"Then it's time you consulted the Oracle," Chiron said. "Go upstairs, Percy Jackson, to the attic. When you come back down, assuming you're still sane, we will talk more."**

"Assuming your still sane?" Piper said. "Can the Oracle make you go crazy?"

"Yes."

**Four flights up, the stairs ended under a green trap door.**

**I pulled the cord. The door swung down, and a wooden ladder clattered into place.**

**The warm air from above smelled like mildew and rotten wood and something else ... a smell I remembered from biology class. Reptiles. The smell of snakes.**

Aphrodite wrinkled her nose.

**I held my breath and climbed.**

**The attic was filled with Greek hero junk: armor stands covered in cobwebs; once-bright shields pitted with rust; old leather steamer trunks plastered with stickers saying ITHAKA, CIRCE'S ISLE, and LAND OF THE AMAZONS. One long table was stacked with glass jars filled with pickled **_**things**_—**severed hairy claws, huge yellow eyes, various other parts of monsters. A dusty mounted trophy on the wall looked like a giant snake's head, but with horns and a full set of shark's teeth. The plaque read, HYDRA HEAD #1, WOODSTOCK, N.Y., 1969.**

**By the window, sitting on a wooden tripod stool, was the most gruesome memento of all: a mummy.**

Apollos smiled sadly while everyone else shivered.

**Not the wrapped-in-cloth kind, but a human female body shriveled to a husk. She wore a tie-dyed sundress, lots of beaded necklaces, and a headband over long black hair. The skin of her face was thin and leathery over her skull, and her eyes were glassy white slits, as if the real eyes had been replaced by marbles; she'd been dead a long, long time.**

**Looking at her sent chills up my back. And that was before she sat up on her stool and opened her mouth. A green mist poured from the mummy's mouth, coiling over the floor in thick tendrils, hissing like twenty thousand snakes. I stumbled over myself trying to get to the trap door, but it slammed shut.**

"That is so creepy." Leo said.

**Inside my head, I heard a voice, slithering into one ear and coiling around my brain: **_**I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask.**_

**I wanted to say, **_**No thanks, wrong door, just looking for the bathroom. **_

Some people chuckled, despite the tense air.

**But I forced myself to take a deep breath.**

**The mummy wasn't alive. She was some kind of gruesome receptacle for something else, the power that was now swirling around me in the green mist. But its presence didn't feel evil, like my demonic math teacher Mrs. Dodds or the Minotaur. **

Nico smiled. Demonic math teacher.

**It felt more like the Three Fates I'd seen knitting the yarn outside the highway fruit stand: ancient, powerful, and definitely **_**not **_**human. But not particularly interested in killing me, either.**.

Apollo smiled. For now anyways.

**I got up the courage to ask, "What is my destiny?"**

**The mist swirled more thickly, collecting right in front of me and around the table with the pickled monster-part jars. Suddenly there were four men sitting around the table, playing cards. Their faces became clearer. It was Smelly Gabe and his buddies.**

Aphrodite frowned at the thought of Gabe.

**My fists clenched, though I knew this poker party couldn't be real. It was an illusion, made out of mist.**

**Gabe turned toward me and spoke in the rasping voice of the Oracle: **_**You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.**_

**His buddy on the right looked up and said in the same voice: **_**You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned.**_

**The guy on the left threw in two poker chips, then said: **_**You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.**_

**Finally, Eddie, our building superior, delivered the worst line of all: **_**And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.**_

Zeus squeked a little. Annabeth sighed.

**The figures began to dissolve. At first I was too stunned to say anything, but as the mist retreated, coiling into a huge green serpent and slithering back into the mouth of the mummy, I cried, "Wait! What do you mean? What friend? What will I fail to save?"**

**The tail of the mist snake disappeared into the mummy's mouth. She reclined back against the wall. Her mouth closed tight, as if it hadn't been open in a hundred years. **

Annabeth shrugged. "Not a hundred years, just two."

**The attic was silent again, abandoned, nothing but a room full of mementos.**

**I got the feeling that I could stand here until I had cob webs, too, and I wouldn't learn anything else.**

**My audience with the Oracle was over.**

**"Well?" Chiron asked me.**

**I slumped into a chair at the pinochle table. "She said I would retrieve what was stolen."**

**Grover sat forward, chewing excitedly on the remains of a Diet Coke can. "That's great!"**

Zeus nodded furiously.

**"What did the Oracle say **_**exactly?" **_**Chiron pressed. "This is important."**

**My ears were still tingling from the reptilian voice. "She ... she said I would go west and face a god who had turned. I would retrieve what was stolen and see it safely returned."**

**"I knew it," Grover said.**

**Chiron didn't look satisfied. "Anything else?"**

**I didn't want to tell him.**

**What friend would betray me? I didn't have that many.**

**And the last line—I would fail to save what mattered most. What kind of Oracle would send me on a quest and tell me, **_**Oh, by the way, you'll fail**_**.**

Apollo furrowed his eyebrows. "What kind of Oracle does do that?"

**How could I confess that?**

**"No," I said. "That's about it."**

**He studied my face. "Very well, Percy. But know this: the Oracle's words often have double meanings. Don't dwell on them too much. The truth is not always clear until events come to pass."**

Annabeth nodded. That had been true in so many ways.

**I got the feeling he knew I was holding back something bad, and he was trying to make me feel better.**

**"Okay," I said, anxious to change topics. "So where do I go? Who's this god in the west?"**

"Hades." The gods chorused. He huffed.

**"Ah, think, Percy," Chiron said. "If Zeus and Poseidon weaken each other in a war, who stands to gain?"**

**"Somebody else who wants to take over?" I guessed.**

"Which I don't." Hades said.

**"Yes, quite. Someone who harbors a grudge, who has been unhappy with his lot since the world was divided eons ago, whose kingdom would grow powerful with the deaths of millions. Someone who hates his brothers for forcing him into an oath to have no more children, an oath that both of them have now broken."**

**I thought about my dreams, the evil voice that had spoken from under the ground. **

"Which isn't me."

**"Hades."**

**Chiron nodded. "The Lord of the Dead is the only possibility."**

"No it isn't. You're all just too scared to admit it."

**A scrap of aluminum dribbled out of Grover's mouth. "Whoa, wait. Wh-what?"**

**"A Fury came after Percy," Chiron reminded him. "She watched the young man until she was sure of his identity, then tried to kill him. Furies obey only one lord: Hades."**

Athena looked at Hades. "Why _did_ you send a fury after him?"

Hades shrugged. "I don't know, but I must have a good reason."

**"Yes, but—but Hades hates **_**all **_**heroes," Grover protested. "Especially if he has found out Percy is a son of Poseidon..."**

**"A hellhound got into the forest," Chiron continued.**

**"Those can only be summoned from the Fields of Punishment, and it had to be summoned by someone within the camp. Hades must have a spy here. He must suspect Poseidon will try to use Percy to clear his name. Hades would very much like to kill this young half-blood before he can take on the quest."**

"I'm glad I have so much faith from my brother." Hades said sarcastically.

**"Great," I muttered. "That's two major gods who want to kill me."**

**"But a quest to ..." Grover swallowed. "I mean, couldn't the master bolt be in some place like Maine? Maine's very nice this time of year."**

Everyone rolled their eyes.

**"Hades sent a minion to steal the master bolt," Chiron insisted. "He hid it in the Underworld, knowing full well that Zeus would blame Poseidon.** **I don't pretend to under stand the Lord of the Dead's motives perfectly, or why he chose this time to start a war, but one thing is certain. Percy must go to the Underworld, find the master bolt, and reveal the truth."**

Hades huffed. "For the last time. I'm completely sure that I didn't steal it. I don't even have a hero to steal it."

**A strange fire burned in my stomach. The weirdest thing was: it wasn't fear. It was anticipation. The desire for revenge. Hades had tried to kill me three times so far, with the Fury, the Minotaur, and the hellhound. It was his fault my mother had disappeared in a flash of light. Now he was trying to frame me and my dad for a theft we hadn't committed.**

**I was ready to take him on.**

Hades huffed exasperated.

**Besides, if my mother was in the Underworld…**

**Whoa, boy, said the small part of my brain that was still sane. You're a kid. Hades is a god.**

"Exactly."

**Grover was trembling. He'd started eating pinochle cards like potato chips.**

Aphrodite looked up. "Unless those help him stay fit. He shouldn't be eating those."

Dionysus rolled his eyes. "Satyrs only do that when they get nervous so stop badgering them."

A stilleto came flying at his head.

**The poor guy needed to complete a quest with me so he could get his searcher's license, whatever that was, but how could I ask him to do this quest, especially when the Oracle said I was destined to fail? This was suicide.**

Poseidon groaned.

**"Look, if we know it's Hades," I told Chiron, "why can't we just tell the other gods? Zeus or Poseidon could go down to the Underworld and bust some heads."**

Everyone chuckled a little.

Hermes looked up at Hephaestus. "That's just like that show you had a couple years ago. What was it called?"

Apollo snapped his fingers. "Hercules Busts Heads."

Hephaestus grinned. "I remember that show. It got ten thousand views."

**"Suspecting and knowing are not the same," Chiron said. "Besides, even if the other gods suspect Hades—and I imagine Poseidon does—**

Poseidon shrugged. "Not really."

Hades looked surprised for a while. Then he glared at Zeus. "At least I have the support of one of my brothers."

**they couldn't retrieve the bolt themselves. Gods cannot cross each other's territories except by invitation. That is another ancient rule. Heroes, on the other hand, have certain privileges. They can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as they're bold enough and strong enough to do it.** **No god can be held responsible for a hero's actions. Why do you think the gods always operate through humans?"**

**"You're saying I'm being used."**

The demigods shifted uncomfortably and sighed.

**"I'm saying it's no accident Poseidon has claimed you now. It's a very risky gamble, but he's in a desperate situation. He needs you."**

**My dad needs me.**

**Emotions rolled around inside me like bits of glass in a kaleidoscope. **

Athena raised an eybrow. Another weird description.

**I didn't know whether to feel resentful or grateful or happy or angry. Poseidon had ignored me for twelve years. Now suddenly he needed me.**

Demeter looked at the group on the floor. "Is that how you all feel?"

Chris looked up with a bitter look on his face. "Exactly."

The other demigods found their shoes interesting.

**I looked at Chiron. "You've known I was Poseidon's son all along, haven't you?"**

"Most likely." Athena stated.

**"I had my suspicions. As I said ... I've spoken to the Oracle, too."**

**I got the feeling there was a lot he wasn't telling me about his prophecy, but I decided I couldn't worry about that right now. After all, I was holding back information too.**

Piper nodded. It was a fair deal.

**"So let me get this straight," I said. "I'm supposed go to the Underworld and confront the Lord of the Dead."**

**"Check," Chiron said.**

**"Find the most powerful weapon in the universe."**

**"Check."**

**"And get it back to Olympus before the summer solstice, in ten days."**

**"That's about right."**

**I looked at Grover, who gulped down the ace of hearts.**

Connor grinned a little. "At least he has a heart."

"Dude," Travis started. "That was corny."

"Says the guy who's hiding behind his girlfriend."

Travis didn't even bother to answer back. He just stood up and walked to his seat.

"So you _do _admit it!"

"No. I'm just tired of defending myself." He turned to Katie. "If it's okay, can I talk to you after we finish up today?"

Katie's eyes bugged out. "S-sure."

The other demigods suppressed smiles and Aphrodite and Hermes smiled at Demeter.

**"Did I mention that Maine is very nice this time of year?" he asked weakly.**

Everyone sighed.

**"You don't have to go," I told him. "I can't ask that of you."**

**"Oh..." He shifted his hooves. "No... it's just that satyrs and underground places... well..."**

**He took a deep breath, then stood, brushing the shredded cards and aluminum bits off his T-shirt. "You saved my life, Percy. If ... if you're serious about wanting me along, I won't let you down."**

**I felt so relieved I wanted to cry,** **though I didn't think that would be very heroic.**

Ares frowned. "No."

**Grover was the only friend I'd ever had for longer than a few months. I wasn't sure what good a satyr could do against the forces of the dead, but I felt better knowing he'd be with me.**

**"All the way, G-man." I turned to Chiron. "So where do we go? The Oracle just said to go west."**

**"The entrance to the Underworld is always in the west. It moves from age to age, just like Olympus. Right now, of course, it's in America."**

**"Where?"**

**Chiron looked surprised. "I thought that would be obvious enough. The entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles."**

**"Oh," I said. "Naturally. So we just get on a plane—"**

"And I blast you out of the sky and get you over with." Zeus said.

"And then World War Three starts and the gods start to choose sides." Annabeth said, although she seemed a little angry that Zeus would think like that.

Now all the gods who had bet that Percy and Annabeth were together grinned at Athena and Poseidon.

**"No!" Grover shrieked. "Percy, what are you thinking? Have you ever been on a plane in your life?"**

**I shook my head, feeling embarrassed. My mom had never taken me anywhere by plane. She'd always said we didn't have the money. Besides, her parents had died in a plane crash.**

**"Percy, think," Chiron said. "You are the son of the Sea God. Your father's bitterest rival is Zeus, Lord of the Sky. Your mother knew better than to trust you in an airplane. You would be in Zeus's domain. You would never come down again alive."**

**Overhead, lightning crackled. Thunder boomed.**

Zeus smirked.

**"Okay," I said, determined not to look at the storm. "So, I'll travel overland."**

**"That's right," Chiron said. "Two companions may accompany you. Grover is one. The other has already volunteered, if you will accept her help."**

**"Gee," I said, feigning surprise. "Who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this?"**

"I can't imagine anyone else." Athena said. The demigods and gods gaped at her. Obviously she'd forgotten that Annabeth wanted a quest.

**The air shimmered behind Chiron.**

Athena face-palmed. "Oh no."

"Oh yes." Poseidon groaned.

Everyone laughed at them except for Annabeth, who blushed.

**Annabeth became visible, stuffing her Yankees cap into her back pocket.**

**"I've been waiting a long time for a quest, Seaweed Brain,"**

"Ooh." The gods said.

"So that's your nickname for him." Demeter asked Annabeth. She blushed and nodded. Aphrodite beamed at Annabeth.

**she said. "Athena is no fan of Poseidon,**

"No. Not at all."

"The feeling's mutual."

"It might not be for long." Aphrodite smiled. She gestured at Annabeth who was deep in thought. The other demigods glanced at each other. They'd have to tell Annabeth of their suspicions later.

**but if you're going to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from messing up."**

"Exactly." The older demigods chorused. Jason, Piper, and Leo just looked at Annabeth questionly. She shrugged in response.

The gods looked at Annabeth with new interest. Apparently this happened a lot.

**"If you do say so yourself," I said. "I suppose you have a plan, Wise Girl?"**

**Her cheeks colored. **

"Like it's doing right now." Connor smirked. Suddenly all the color left Annabeth and she glared at Connor.

**"Do you want my help or not?"**

**The truth was, I did. I needed all the help I could get.**

**"A trio," I said. "That'll work."**

**"Excellent," Chiron said. "This afternoon, we can take you as far as the bus terminal in Manhattan. After that, you are on your own."**

**Lightning flashed. Rain poured down on the meadows that were never supposed to have violent weather.**

Demeter frowned. She was about to start ranting when Hades sighed and said, "Read Katie."

Katie did, though a little hesistant because she agreed with her mother.

**"No time to waste," Chiron said. "I think you should all get packing."**

Katie sighed. "That's it."

Zeus stood and said, "That's it for today."

Katie gave the book to Athena and one by one the gods flashed out until Aphrodite, Hephaestus, and Ares were left.

"Come on Aphrodite." Ares said.

Aphrodite looked at him like, _Are you kidding me? _She stood up along with Hephaestus and said, "No thanks Ares. You'll be sleeping alone tonight."

With that she flashed out with Hephaestus by her side leaving Ares alone with the demigods. Ares looked at the group on the floor but they all looked away like they hadn't noticed anything.

He flashed out without a word. Everyone else got up and started to go back to their rooms but Travis stopped Katie. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

* * *

><p><strong>That's it for today. Please review. Erudite19<strong>


	12. I Ruin A Perfectly Good Bus

_Flashback_

_Katie got up hurriedly and started to make my way out of the throne room when someone pulled her arm. She cursed mentally because she knew she couldn't avoid him. She thought about shaking him off and making a run for it but she turned around anyways. _

_"Can I talk to you for a second?" Travis said. They were alone in the throne room and if Demeter were still here she would have made a big fuss about it. He gestured to the seats they had originally been in._

_Katie sighed and sat down across from him. She waited for him to start the conversation because _she_ sure wasn't going to start it._

_"Look...I don't really know what to say because I have almost no idea about how I feel towards you right now but-"_

_"Travis... If you're going to talk to me to bring me down then I might as well leave."_

_"No! I mean, just hear me out."_

_"Fine, you have five minutes."_

_"Ok." He took a deep breath and said, "I have almost_ _no idea of how I feel towards you but I do know that I kind of like you. I don't know how you feel towards me but I'd like to give 'us' a try. I mean if you want to? I don't want to force you into doing anything you don't-"_

_He was interrupted because right then she sat next to him and planted a kiss on his cheek. He sat there looking dazed for a while. She rolled her eyes at the look on his face but then smiled because she had made him blank out and stare into space. _

_She snapped her fingers in front of his face and then said a little irritably, "So are you going to ask me out or what?"_

Of course, he had asked her out and she had said yes. They spent a couple more minutes together until they were sure that they were going to get into trouble if they stayed any longer. He managed to suck up some courage and kiss her goodnight and then they had seperated.

So here they were right now, sitting next to each other and talking to the other demigods about the book. Anybody could've guessed they were together by how close they were or how happy they both looked.

Suddenly Connor stood up and said, "Ladies and gentlemen-"

"Hey!"

"Sorry Nico. Ladies, gentlemen, and little kids with crazy explanations!"

"I'm not little!"

"Whatever. I would like to say that I am so proud" He teared up a little bit. "Of my big brother for getting the woman of his dreams."

Travis and Katie both blushed while the others snickered.

"Alas," Connor continued. "I can't bother him any more about Katie so... Any suggestions are welcome." He grinned after this and had to jump out of his seat and run because both Connor and Katie started to run after him and yell threats.

* * *

><p><strong>"I Ruin a Perfectly Good Bus," <strong>Leo read.

"I hope he doesn't mean my sun car." Apollo said. Thalia and Nico frowned at the memory.

"Why would he mean your sun car?" Artemis asked.

"Because it can transform into a bus." Apollo replied.

Zeus face-palmed. "Why would you give him your sun car?"

Apollo shrugged. "I don't know. I wouldn't just give it out like that."

"But then-"

"Don't try Nico. You'll just end up in a mental institute with him." Artemis stated.

**It didn't take me long to pack. I decided to leave the Minotaur horn in my cabin, which left me only an extra change of clothes and a toothbrush to stuff in a backpack Grover had found for me.**

**The camp store loaned me one hundred dollars in mortal money and twenty golden drachmas. These coins were as big as Girl Scout cookies **

Connor frowned. "If only they tasted like girl scout cookies." Everyone looked at him a for a little while then decided not to ask for fear of what he would say.

**and had images of various Greek gods stamped on one side and the Empire State Building on the other. The ancient mortal drachmas had been silver, Chiron told us, but Olympians never used less than pure gold**.

"Which if you ask me makes no sense." Leo said. "I mean you use gold as if it were worth pennies, dimes, or quarters when in the human world, it's worth a lot more."

The other demigods nodded.

Hermes rolled his eyes. "Well nobody asked you so..."

Leo frowned. "Someone's touchy about his gold."

**Chiron said the coins might come in handy for non-mortal transactions—whatever that meant. **

Everyone sighed.

**He gave Annabeth and me each a canteen of nectar and a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia squares, to be used only in emergencies, if we were seriously hurt. It was god food, Chiron reminded us. It would cure us of almost any injury, but it was lethal to mortals. Too much of it would make a half-blood very, very feverish. An overdose would burn us up, literally.**

"I never got that." Ares said. He was touchy not to offend Aphrodite because:

a) Last night he slept alone, which was a _very_ lonely experience.

b) He was pretty sure Aphrodite slept over with Hephaestus last night.

c) He didn't understand _why_ she wouldn't talk to him.

d) Contrary to what some people think, he would actually like to have Aphrodite back.

e) He was running out of time because every hour Aphrodite spent with Hephaestus some time of boil or bump or bruise on Hephaestus's face disappeared and was left with smooth skin. He knew that when Hephaestus's face smoothed out he would actually look handsome. Then Aphrodite wouldn't be able to resist Hephaestus at all.

**Annabeth was bringing her magic Yankees cap, which she told me had been a twelfth-birthday present from her mom.**

"I always wondered where you got that from." Nico said.

"I thought she stole it." Travis said. Katie rolled her eyes.

"Why didn't you just ask her?" Piper asked.

They both seemed to consider it for a minute then both of them said, "Why didn't you tell us to ask her?"

Piper sighed and shook her head. "Read Leo."

**She carried a book on famous classical architecture, written in Ancient Greek, to read when she got bored, and a long bronze knife, hidden in her shirt sleeve. I was sure the knife would get us busted the first time we went through a metal detector**.

Everybody face-palmed. "Will someone _please_ explain everything to him so that he won't keep thinking these thoughts."

**Grover wore his fake feet and his pants to pass as human. He wore a green rasta-style cap, because when it rained his curly hair flattened and you could just see the tips of his horns. His bright orange backpack was full of scrap metal and apples to snack on. In his pocket was a set of reed pipes his daddy goat had carved for him, even though he only knew two songs: Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 12 and Hilary Duff's "So Yesterday," both of which sounded pretty bad on reed pipes.**

Some people chuckled while Thalia grimaced. "He has no sense for music." This just created more laughter.

**We waved good-bye to the other campers, took one last look at the strawberry fields, the ocean, and the Big House, then hiked up Half-Blood Hill to the tall pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus.**

Thalia sighed. "Why does he keep mentioning me?"

**Chiron was waiting for us in his wheelchair. Next to him stood the surfer dude I'd seen when I was recovering in the sick room. According to Grover, the guy was the camp's head of security. He supposedly had eyes all over his body so he could never be surprised. Today, though, he was wearing a chauffeur's uniform, so I could only see extra peepers on his hands, face and neck.**

Piper smiled while Leo and Jason looked bewildered.

**"This is Argus," Chiron told me. "He will drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things."**

"That's a horrible pun."

**I heard footsteps behind us.**

**Luke came running up the hill, carrying a pair of basketball shoes.**

Annabeth grimaced. Some gifts they were.

Hermes's brow furrowed. "Are those _my_ shoes?" Then he smiled. "I can't believe he kept them."

The gods rolled their eyes while the demigods grimaced.

**"Hey!" he panted. "Glad I caught you."**

**Annabeth blushed, the way she always did when Luke was around.**

Annabeth huffed while other people snickered.

"Love, rectangle, square, trapezoid,... whatever you get what I mean." Aphrodite said. She was leaning against Hephaestus again and Ares was getting more and more jealous. Almost all of the bumps that Hephaestus had were gone.

**"Just wanted to say good luck," Luke told me. "And I thought ... um, maybe you could use these."**

**He handed me the sneakers, which looked pretty normal. They even smelled kind of normal.**

Hermes frowned. _How do sneakers smell normal?_

**Luke said,** **"**_**Maia**_**!"**

**White bird's wings sprouted out of the heels, startling me so much, I dropped them. The shoes flapped around on the ground until the wings folded up and disappeared.**

Leo grinned. "Cool."

Hermes smiled smugly.

**"Awesome!" Grover said.**

**Luke smiled. "Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days..." His expression turned sad.**

**I didn't know what to say. It was cool enough that Luke had come to say good-bye. I'd been afraid he might resent me for getting so much attention the last few days.**

**But here he was giving me a magic gift... It made me blush almost as much as Annabeth.**

Everyone started to laugh again as Annabeth pinched her nose.

**"Hey, man," I said. "Thanks."**

**"Listen, Percy ..." Luke looked uncomfortable. "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just ... kill some monsters for me, okay?"**

**We shook hands. Luke patted Grover's head between his horns, then gave a good-bye hug to Annabeth, who looked like she might pass out.**

**After Luke was gone, I told her, "You're hyperventilating."**

**"Am not."**

**"You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?"**

**"Oh... why do I want to go anywhere with you, Percy?"**

Connor and Travis Stoll smiled dramatically. Everyone looked at them a little creeped out.

"Um..." Piper asked. "Do they do that often?"

Nico sighed. "Not unless they're planning something."

Connor pulled out a book labeled blackmail and started to mutter. "Annabeth Chase... crush...-"

He couldn't write anymore because suddenly a celestial bronze knife sprouted from his book.

His eyes bugged out. "You know what... I don't think that's really blackmail material so..." He turned to his brother who took the knife back out and gave it to Annabeth. Travis took the book and ripped up the page that Connor had been writing about Annabeth. "Consider it erased from our minds."

Everyone else cracked up.

**She stomped down the other side of the hill, where a white SUV waited on the shoulder of the road. Argus followed, jingling his car keys.**

**I picked up the flying shoes and had a sudden bad feeling. I looked at Chiron. "I won't be able to use these, will I?"**

"Nope." Zeus grinned.

**He shook his head. "Luke meant well, Percy. But taking to the air ... that would not be wise for you."**

**I nodded, disappointed, but then I got an idea. "Hey, Grover. You want a magic item?"**

**His eyes lit up. "Me?"**

**Pretty soon we'd laced the sneakers over his fake feet, and the world's first flying goat boy was ready for launch.**

Chris and the Stolls chuckled. "Goat boy."

Thalia sighed and turned to Hephaestus. "Do you have a camera that I can borrow?"

Hephaestus grinned. "Here." He handed her a brand new camera. "Keep it. It never runs out of film."

"Thanks."

**"**_**Maia**_**!" ****he shouted.**

**He got off the ground okay, but then fell over sideways so his backpack dragged through the grass. The winged shoes kept bucking up and down like tiny broncos.**

"Tiny broncos." Apollo mused.

Hephaestus looked up. "Does he mean the car or the horses?"

"They have a car named bronco?" Ares asked.

"Yeah." Hephaestus said. "Thought they're not the slightest bit small."

Poseidon rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty sure he means the horse."

"Your son compares almost everything to your domain. First fish now horses." Artemis said.

Hades shrugged. "It's probably a son of the sea god thing." Then he smirked. "Instead of saying 'there are many fish in the sea' they probably say 'there are many horses at the ranch'."

Nico considered it. "That's so true. There are so many souls in the underworld."

Thalia looked at Nico. "You know those souls are dead right? They don't have a body."

Nico rolled his eyes. "It's just a metaphor Thalia."

**"Practice," Chiron called after him. "You just need practice!"**

**"Aaaaa!" Grover went flying sideways down the hill like a possessed lawn mower, heading toward the van.**

**Before I could follow, Chiron caught my arm. "I should have trained you better, Percy," he said. "If only I had more time. Hercules, Jason—they all got more training."**

"Oh sure," Jason said. "I spend one night at your camp and that's enought training to send me off on a quest."

"I'm pretty sure Chiron meant the _first_ Jason." Clarisse said.

"Or did he?" Travis asked with an eyebrow raised.

"He did." Katie answered.

Travis blushed. "Oh."

The demigods smiled knowingly.

**"That's okay. I just wish—"**

**I stopped myself because I was about to sound like a brat. **

Dionysus rolled his eyes. "They're all brats whether they like it or not."

Everyone ignored him.

**I was wishing my dad had given me a cool magic item to help on the quest, something as good as Luke's flying shoes, or Annabeth's invisible cap.**

**"What am I thinking?" Chiron cried. "I can't let you get away without this."**

**He pulled a pen from his coat pocket and handed it to me. It was an ordinary disposable ballpoint, black ink, removable cap. **

Chris rubbed his shoulder. "A _lethal_ ballpoint pen."

The others agreed.

**Probably cost thirty cents.**

Jason looked at Annabeth. "Isn't that the pen from the museum?"

Annabeth nodded.

**"Gee," I said. "Thanks."**

**"Percy, that's a gift from your father. I've kept it for years, not knowing you were who I was waiting for. But the prophecy is clear to me now. You are the one."**

**I remembered the field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, when I'd vaporized Mrs. Dodds. Chiron had thrown me a pen that turned into a sword. Could this be...?**

"Yes."

**I took off the cap, and the pen grew longer and heavier in my hand. In half a second, I held a shimmering bronze sword with a double-edged blade, a leather-wrapped grip, and a flat hilt riveted with gold studs. It was the first weapon that actually felt balanced in my hand.**

**"The sword has a long and tragic history that we need not go into," Chiron told me.**

**"Its name is Anaklusmos."**

**"'Riptide,'" I translated, surprised the Ancient Greek came so easily.**

"The current that takes one by surprise. And before you know it, you have been swept out to sea." Poseidon said. Everyone stared at him stunned.

Then Apollo said, "Who knew Uncle P. could be so deep."

Hermes agreed. "That's probably how he gets the ladies he dates to fall in love with him."

Poseidon rolled his eyes.

"Wow," Travis said. He turned to Annabeth. "Does Percy ever sprout out poetry like that to you?"

Annabeth's eyes widened. The gods gasped.

"Travis!" Connor yelled. "Why?"

Thalia, Clarisse, Rachel, Katie, and Piper got up and slapped Travis on the head.

"Ha!" Dionysus jumped up. "I knew they were together."

Demeter and Zeus looked stunned. Hephaestus didn't really pay attention while Ares grinned smugly that Hephaestus hadn't bested him.

"Now wait a minute-" Athena started but Artemis interrupted.

"It's okay Athena. You're in denial. You always knew it but you didn't want to admit it to yourself. Go ahead and say it."

Athena looked at her stunned. Then she looked at Annabeth's face which was flushed but totally guilty. She swallowed down her embarassment. "I-I was w-w-w-w-"

Artemis hit her on the back. "Wrong." Everyone gasped.

Artemis turned to Poseidon. "You two, Poseidon."

Poseidon pouted and looked down. He shook his head furiously.

Hades smirked. "Come on brother. You can say it. Just three little words. Just like our dearest wisdom goddess just said."

Poseidon sucked up his breath and looked at the group on the floor who was partly alarmed and partly relieved. Probably relieved at Athena's confession. Then he looked at Annabeth, who looked like she was about to collapse. "Fine, I was _wrong_."

Aphrodite shrieked and turned to Annabeth. "So..."

Thalia stepped in front of Annabeth and said, "My client isn't available to discuss any relationship she has with the son of Poseidon unless he comes here." After she finished talking she started examining her finger nails.

Aphrodite raised an eyebrow. "Okay then. We can bring Percy here-"

Thalia looked up from her nails. "We need the Percy from _our_ time period not yours."

Aphrodite looked at Thalia astonished. She was about to yell at Thalia but when she looked at Annabeth she stopped. Annabeth looked like she might break down in to tears at any moment. She sensed something major had happened. _A break up maybe? _She looked at Thalia and relented. "Fine."

Several gods stared at her. "No one bothers Annabeth about Percy. No one." She glared at all of the gods daring them to say anything. None of them did. Annabeth looked at Aphrodite thankfully.

Aphrodite smiled and said, "Continue Leo."

**"Use it only for emergencies," Chiron said, "and only against monsters. No hero should harm mortals unless absolutely necessary, of course, but this sword wouldn't harm them in any case."**

**I looked at the wickedly sharp blade. "What do you mean it wouldn't harm mortals?" How could it not?**

Everyone sighed again.

**"The sword is celestial bronze. Forged by the Cyclopes, tempered in the heart of Mount Etna, cooled in the River Lethe. It's deadly to monsters, to any creature from the Underworld, provided they don't kill you first. But the blade will pass through mortals like an illusion. They simply are not important enough for the blade to kill. **

"Wow." Rachel said. "Nice to know I matter."

**And I should warn you: as a demigod, you can be killed by either celestial or normal weapons. You are **_**twice **_**as vulnerable."**

"Oh, never mind." Rachel frowned.

**"Good to know."**

**"Now recap the pen."**

**I touched the pen cap to the sword tip and instantly Riptide shrank to a ballpoint pen again. I tucked it in my pocket, a little nervous, because I was famous for losing pens at school.**

**"You can't," Chiron said.**

**"Can't what?"**

**"Lose the pen," he said. "It is enchanted. It will always reappear in your pocket. Try it."**

**I was wary, but I threw the pen as far as I could down the hill and watched it disappear in the grass.**

**"It may take a few moments," Chiron told me. "Now check your pocket."**

**Sure enough, the pen was there.**

**"Okay, that's **_**extremely **_**cool," I admitted.**

"Yeah," Leo said. "Almost as cool as Jason's old gladius."

Piper nodded.

Travis looked up from rubbing his head. "You mean the coin he had? What happened to it?"

"It broke when we were attacking-" He glanced nervously at the gods who were in tune to the conversation.

"I get it." Travis said. Athena looked at Jason questionally but he just shrugged and said, "Read Leo."

**"But what if a mortal sees me pulling out a sword?"**

**Chiron smiled. "Mist is a powerful thing, Percy."**

**"Mist?"**

Everyone sighed exasperated again. "For the gods' sake will someone please teach him these things already."

**"Yes. Read **_**The Iliad. **_**It's full of references to the stuff. Whenever divine or monstrous elements mix with the mortal world, they generate Mist, which obscures the vision of humans.**

**You will see things just as they are, being a half-blood, but humans will interpret things quite differently. Remarkable, really, the lengths to which humans will go to fit things into their version of reality."**

Katie rolled her eyes. "Well as Dionysus said before, mortals are ignorant." Then added as an afterthought. "Not you Rachel."

**I put Riptide back in my pocket.**

**For the first time, the quest felt real. I was actually leaving Half-Blood Hill. I was heading west with no adult supervision, no backup plan, not even a cell phone. (Chiron said cell phones were traceable by monsters; if we used one, it would be worse than sending up a flare.) I had no weapon stronger than a sword to fight off monsters and reach the Land of the Dead.**

Nico shook his head. _Such a pessimist._

**"Chiron ..." I said. "When you say the gods are immortal... I mean, there was a time **_**before **_**them, right?"**

Zeus frowned. "Why would he ask that?"

No answer.

**"Four ages before them, actually. The Time of the Titans was the Fourth Age, sometimes called the Golden Age,**

**which is definitely a misnomer. This, the time of Western civilization and the rule of Zeus, is the Fifth Age."**

**"So what was it like ... before the gods?"**

**Chiron pursed his lips. "Even I am not old enough to remember that, child, but I know it was a time of darkness and savagery for mortals. Kronos, the lord of the Titans, called his reign the Golden Age because men lived innocent and free of all knowledge. But that was mere propaganda. The Titan king cared nothing for your kind except as appetizers or a source of cheap entertainment. It was only in the early reign of Lord Zeus, when Prometheus the good Titan brought fire to mankind, that your species began to progress, and even then Prometheus was branded a radical thinker. Zeus punished him severely, as you may recall. Of course, eventually the gods warmed to humans, and Western civilization was born."**

**"But the gods can't die now, right? I mean, as long as Western civilization is alive, they're alive. So ... even if I failed, nothing could happen so bad it would mess up **_**everything , **_**right?"**

**Chiron gave me a melancholy smile. "No one knows how long the Age of the West will last, Percy. The gods are immortal, yes. But then, so were the Titans. **_**They **_**still exist, locked away in their various prisons, forced to endure endless pain and punishment, reduced in power, but still very much alive. May the Fates forbid that the gods should ever suffer such a doom, or that we should ever return to the darkness and chaos of the past. All we can do, child, is follow our destiny."**

**"Our destiny ... assuming we know what that is."**

**"Relax," Chiron told me. "Keep a clear head. And remember, you may be about to prevent the biggest war in human history."**

Connor frowned. "Someone should really teach Chiron what to say in times like this so little kids don't get depressed just from having a conversation with him."

Everyone nodded.

**"Relax," I said. "I'm very relaxed."**

**When I got to the bottom of the hill, I looked back. Under the pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus**

Thalia sighed. "Why do they keep on mentioning me?"

**Chiron was now standing in full horse-man form, holding his bow high in salute. Just your typical summer-camp send-off by your typical centaur.**

Jason snorted. "Typical?"

"Yup." Clarisse said. Jason looked at her incredulous. _Typical?_

**Argus drove us out of the countryside and into western Long Island. It felt weird to be on a highway again, Annabeth and Grover sitting next to me as if we were normal carpoolers. After two weeks at Half-Blood Hill, the real world seemed like a fantasy. I found myself staring at every McDonald's, every kid in the back of his parents' car, every billboard and shopping mall.**

Everyone either chuckled or rolled their eyes.

**"So far so good," I told Annabeth. "Ten miles and not a single monster."**

Chris frowned. "Way to jinx it."

**She gave me an irritated look. "It's bad luck to talk that way, Seaweed Brain."**

**"Remind me again—why do you hate me so much?"**

**"I don't hate you."**

**"Could've fooled me."**

"She fooled all of us the first two years." Clarisse said.

The others nodded. "It wasn't until before she got kidnapped-"

"Kidnapped?" Athena asked.

Clarisse looked a little irritated. "It's a long story. It wasn't until she got kidnapped that we realised it."

"I remember that." Nico said. "Percy was like a lovesick puppy."

Everyone who had been there smiled a little. Annabeth blushed a bit.

The gods watched this amused. Hermes opened his mouth to say something but was silenced at Thalia's glare.

"Read Leo." Thalia said. Leo didn't hesitate. He had no idea when Annabeth got kidnapped and Piper and Jason probably didn't know either. They had confused looks on their faces.

**She folded her cap of invisibility. "Look ... we're just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals."**

**"Why?"**

**She sighed. "How many reasons do you want? One time my mom caught Poseidon with his girlfriend in Athena's temple, which is **_**hugely **_**disrespectful.**

"Exactly." Athena said seethingly.

**Another time, Athena and Poseidon competed to be the patron god for the city of Athens. Your dad created some stupid saltwater spring for his gift.**

"It was not stupid." Poseidon huffed.

"It was stupid. It was saltwater. They couldn't use it. Let it go already. _I _got Athens. Not you."

Poseidon glared at her but then said, "Read Leo."

**My mom created the olive tree. The people saw that her gift was better, so they named the city after her."**

**"They must really like olives." **

Nico and Leo chuckled a bit.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "That completely disregarded my attempt to get him to see what I was talking about."

**"Oh, forget it."**

**"Now, if she'd invented pizza—**_**that **_**I could understand."**

Several people chuckled. "You know what Poseidon?" Apollo asked. "I totally see what your son is going at."

Artemis rolled her eyes and then said sarcastically, "Of course you would Apollo. Considering you don't even like olives on your pizza in the first place."

Apollo pouted.

**"I said, forget it!"**

"Aww." Aphrodite cooed. "The first time they flirted."

Annabeth's face flushed while the other demigods grinned.

**In the front seat, Argus smiled. He didn't say anything, but one blue eye on the back of his neck winked at me.**

"He knows." Hades stated.

**Traffic slowed us down in Queens. By the time we got into Manhattan it was sunset and starting to rain.**

**Argus dropped us at the Greyhound Station on the Upper East Side, not far from my mom and Gabe's apartment. Taped to a mailbox was a soggy flyer with my picture on it: HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY?**

**I ripped it down before Annabeth and Grover could notice.**

Annabeth sighed. "We noticed."

**Argus unloaded our bags, made sure we got our bus tickets, then drove away, the eye on the back of his hand opening to watch us as he pulled out of the parking lot.**

**I thought about how close I was to my old apartment. On a normal day, my mom would be home from the candy store by now. Smelly Gabe was probably up there right now, playing poker, not even missing her.**

**Grover shouldered his backpack. He gazed down the street in the direction I was looking. "You want to know why she married him, Percy?"**

**I stared at him. "Were you reading my mind or something?"**

"_Emotions."_ Dionysus sighed. "Why does everyone always think that they're reading their minds? It's annoying."

No one bothered to answer him because he looked really pissed off.

**"Just your emotions." He shrugged.** **"Guess I forgot to tell you satyrs can do that.**

Dionysus glared at the book. "It would have been great if he had done that."

**You were thinking about your mom and your stepdad, right?"**

**I nodded, wondering what else Grover might've forgotten to tell me.**

"It's better if he gets it out right now." Dionysus muttered.

**"Your mom married Gabe for **_**you," **_**Grover told me. "You call him 'Smelly,' but you've got no idea. The guy has this aura…. Yuck. I can smell him from here. I can smell traces of him on you, and you haven't been near him for a week."**

Aphrodite wrinkled her nose.

**"Thanks," I said. "Where's the nearest shower?"**

"Exactly." Aphrodite stated.

**"You should be grateful, Percy. Your stepfather smells so repulsively human he could mask the presence of any demigod. As soon as I took a whiff inside his Camaro, I knew: Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn't lived with him every summer, you probably would've been found by monsters a long time ago.**

"Wow."

**Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was a smart lady. She must've loved you a lot to put up with that guy—if that makes you feel any better."**

Athena considered this. Poseidon had chosen a _very_ smart lover.

**It didn't, but I forced myself not to show it.**

**I'll see her again, I thought. She isn't gone.**

**I wondered if Grover could still read my emotions, mixed up as they were. I was glad he and Annabeth were with me, but I felt guilty that I hadn't been straight with them. I hadn't told them the real reason I'd said yes to this crazy quest.**

**The truth was, I didn't care about retrieving Zeus's lightning bolt,**

Zeus whimpered slightly.

**or saving the world, or even helping my father out of trouble.**

**The more I thought about it, I resented Poseidon for never visiting me, never helping my mom, never even sending a lousy child-support check.**

**He'd only claimed me because he needed a job done.**

Poseidon frowned and sighed. He glared at Zeus momentarily before going on with his business.

**All I cared about was my mom. Hades had taken her unfairly and Hades was going to give her back.**

_**You will be betrayed by one who calls you a friend, **_**the Oracle whispered in my mind. **_**You will fail to save what matters most in the end.**_

_**Shut up, **_**I told it.**

"Oh great. Now he's talking to himself." Demeter said. "Nico has crazy explanations, Percy talks to himself, and who knows what will happen next. I think it's a cousin thing. Maybe Thalia's next."

Thalia scowled at Demeter but didn't say anything. In a way, Percy was like her male version.

**The rain kept coming down.**

**We got restless waiting for the bus and decided to play some Hacky Sack with one of Grover's apples. Annabeth was unbelievable.**

Aphrodite sighed. "Young love. So naive."

Athena and Poseidon looked at her warily while Annabeth mentally groaned.

**She could bounce the apple off her knee, her elbow, her shoulder, whatever. I wasn't too bad myself.**

"And so his ego increases." Thalia said. Nico nodded.

**The game ended when I tossed the apple toward Grover and it got too close to his mouth. In one mega goat bite, our Hacky Sack disappeared—core, stem, and all.**

**Grover blushed. He tried to apologize, but Annabeth and I were too busy cracking up.**

"Wow." Dionysus sighed fondly while everyone laughed.

**Finally the bus came. As we stood in line to board, Grover started looking around, sniffing the air like he smelled his favorite school cafeteria delicacy—enchiladas.**

**"What is it?" I asked.**

**"I don't know," he said tensely. "Maybe it's nothing."**

**But I could tell it wasn't nothing. I started looking over my shoulder, too.**

Poseidon and Athena tensed. It had to be a monster.

**I was relieved when we finally got on board and found seats together in the back of the bus. We stowed our back packs. Annabeth kept slapping her Yankees cap nervously against her thigh.**

Everyone else tensed.

**As the last passengers got on, Annabeth clamped her hand onto my knee.**

**"Percy."**

**An old lady had just boarded the bus. She wore a crumpled velvet dress, lace gloves, and a shapeless orange-knit hat that shadowed her face, and she carried a big paisley purse. When she tilted her head up, her black eyes glittered, and my heart skipped a beat.**

**It was Mrs. Dodds. **

Now Poseidon _and_ Athena were glaring at Hades.

**Older, more withered, but definitely the same evil face.**

**I scrunched down in my seat.**

**Behind her came two more old ladies: one in a green hat, one in a purple hat. Otherwise they looked exactly like Mrs. Dodds—same gnarled hands, paisley handbags, wrinkled velvet dresses. Triplet demon grandmothers.**

Nico resumed chuckling. "Seriously Nico?" Thalia said. "We get it. Demonic math teachers and demonic grandmothers. It's not that funny."

Nico just disregarded her and kept chuckling. Thalia sighed and said, "Keep reading Leo."

**They sat in the front row, right behind the driver. The two on the aisle crossed their legs over the walkway, making an X. It was casual enough, but it sent a clear message: nobody leaves.**

The atmosphere got more tense at this.

**The bus pulled out of the station, and we headed through the slick streets of Manhattan. "She didn't stay dead long," I said, trying to keep my voice from quivering. "I thought you said they could be dispelled for a lifetime."**

**"I said if you're **_**lucky**_**," Annabeth said. "You're obviously not."**

Athena and Poseidon groaned.

Connor wiggled his eyebrows at Annabeth. "Are you sure he's not lucky?"

She glared at him while everyone stiffled their giggles.

**"All three of them," Grover whimpered.**_**"Di immortales!"**_

**"It's okay," Annabeth said, obviously thinking hard. "The Furies. The three worst monsters from the Underworld. No problem. No problem. We'll just slip out the windows."**

**"They don't open," Grover moaned.**

**"A back exit?" she suggested.**

**There wasn't one. Even if there had been, it wouldn't have helped. By that time, we were on Ninth Avenue, heading for the Lincoln Tunnel.**

Athena face-palmed while Poseidon sunk in his teeth.

Hermes looked at Annabeth. "Are things like this going to happen often during this story?" He gestured to Athena and Poseidon.

Annabeth grinned. "Yup." She was just really happy that Athena and Poseidon didn't care if she was with Percy.

**"They won't attack us with witnesses around," I said. "Will they?"**

**"Mortals don't have good eyes," Annabeth reminded me. "Their brains can only process what they see through the Mist."**

**"They'll see three old ladies killing us, won't they?"**

Everyone chuckled a bit at that revelation.

**She thought about it. "Hard to say. But we can't count on mortals for help. Maybe an emergency exit in the roof...?"**

**We hit the Lincoln Tunnel, and the bus went dark except for the running lights down the aisle. It was eerily quiet without the sound of the rain.**

**Mrs. Dodds got up. In a flat voice, as if she'd rehearsed it, she announced to the whole bus: "I need to use the rest-room."**

**"So do I," said the second sister.**

**"So do I," said the third sister.**

**They all started coming down the aisle.**

Nico smirked. "Is any one going to notice triplet demonic grandmothers going down the aisle to use the bathroom at the same time?"

Everyone rolled their eyes at Nico.

**"I've got it," Annabeth said. "Percy, take my hat."**

**"What?"**

**"You're the one they want. Turn invisible and go up the aisle. Let them pass you. Maybe you can get to the front and get away."**

**"But you guys—"**

**"There's an outside chance they might not notice us," Annabeth said. "You're a son of one of the Big Three. Your smell might be overpowering."**

**"I can't just leave you."**

"Aww." Aphrodite cooed. "He doesn't want to leave you Annabeth."

Annabeth flushed and everyone rolled their eyes.

"You know Grover's there too?" Piper asked.

Aphrodite considered it then shrugged.

**"Don't worry about us," Grover said. "Go!"**

**My hands trembled. I felt like a coward, but I took the Yankees cap and put it on.**

**When I looked down, my body wasn't there anymore.**

**I started creeping up the aisle. I managed to get up ten rows, then duck into an empty seat just as the Furies walked past.**

**Mrs. Dodds stopped, sniffing, and looked straight at me. My heart was pounding.**

Everyone was quiet.

**Apparently she didn't see anything. She and her sisters kept going.**

**I was free. I made it to the front of the bus. We were almost through the Lincoln Tunnel now. I was about to press the emergency stop button when I heard hideous wailing from the back row.**

**The old ladies were not old ladies anymore. Their faces were still the same—I guess those couldn't get any uglier—**

Hades rolled his eyes but didn't say anything.

**but their bodies had shriveled into leathery brown hag bodies with bat's wings and hands and feet like gargoyle claws. Their handbags had turned into fiery whips.**

Thalia shivered. Those fiery whips were not comfortable at all.

**The Furies surrounded Grover and Annabeth, lashing their whips, hissing: "Where is it? Where?"**

Zeus furrowed his eyebrows. "Where? I know Poseidon is weird but Percy shouldn't be classified as an it."

Poseidon frowned at Zeus. Hades looked thoughtful. _Why would they say where? Did this mean that he didn't have the lightning bolt? Did he think that Jackson had the bolt? But why would he waste his time trying to retrieve the bolt anyway?_

**The other people on the bus were screaming, cowering in their seats. They saw **_**something, **_**all right.**

**"He's not here!" Annabeth yelled. "He's gone!"**

**The Furies raised their whips.**

Thalia tensed.

**Annabeth drew her bronze knife. Grover grabbed a tin can from his snack bag and prepared to throw it.**

"Oooh." Leo mock cowered. "So menacing."

Everyone else rolled their eyes at him.

**What I did next was so impulsive and dangerous I should've been named ADHD poster child of the year.**

Hermes got up dramatically and pulled out a shiny gold trophy. His hair adjusted itself so that it was in a superman style cut and his close shifted to a tuxedo. "Ladies and gentlemen... the award for the ADHD poster child of the year goes to... Percy Jackson!... Where is he anyways? He's supposed to get his award..."

"SIT DOWN HERMES!" Everyone yelled.

"Jeez..." Hermes scratched his neck. "I guess I'll give it to him when he gets here."

**The bus driver was distracted, trying to see what was going on in his rearview mirror.**

**Still invisible, I grabbed the wheel from him and jerked it to the left. Everybody howled as they were thrown to the right, and I heard what I hoped was the sound of three Furies smashing against the windows.**

Annabeth smiled. "Yeah. It was kind of fun to see them get hurt."

**"Hey!" the driver yelled. "Hey—whoa!"**

**We wrestled for the wheel. The bus slammed against the side of the tunnel, grinding metal, throwing sparks a mile behind us.**

**We careened out of the Lincoln Tunnel and back into the rainstorm, people and monsters tossed around the bus, cars plowed aside like bowling pins.**

"Wow." Apollo said. "He really should be named the ADHD Poster child of the year."

Poseidon sighed. "The sea is restless."

**Somehow the driver found an exit. We shot off the highway, through half a dozen traffic lights, and ended up barreling down one of those New Jersey rural roads where you can't believe there's so much nothing right across the river from New York. There were woods to our left, the Hudson River to our right, and the driver seemed to be veering toward the river.**

Poseidon smiled a little. "At least he'll live if the bus plunges into the river."

Athena hit his head. "And what about my daughter."

Dionysus hit his head. "And what about my satyr."

He sighed while rubbing his head. "Read Leo."

**Another great idea: **

Almost everyone groaned.

**I hit the emergency brake.**

Apollo smirked. "Look Ares. He drives just like you."

Hermes grinned. "Except this time there's no Aphrodite to smack you or make out."

Several of the gods smiled but looked away. Aphrodite snuggled closer to Hephaestus and he smiled brilliantly. All of the bumps on his face disappeared. Some of the gods smiled at this embrace and the demigods raised their eyebrows.

**The bus wailed, spun a full circle on the wet asphalt, and crashed into the trees. The emergency lights came on. The door flew open. The bus driver was the first one out, **

Artemis rolled her eyes. "I thought that the passengers were supposed to go first."

Ares frowned. "The bus driver is a coward."

Zeus looked at Ares, "Way to state the obvious."

**the passengers yelling as they stampeded after him. I stepped into the driver's seat and let them pass.**

**The Furies regained their balance. They lashed their whips at Annabeth while she waved her knife and yelled in Ancient Greek, telling them to back off. Grover threw tin cans.**

Leo smirked again. "So menacing."

**I looked at the open doorway. I was free to go, but I couldn't leave my friends. I took off the invisible cap. "Hey!"**

**The Furies turned, baring their yellow fangs at me, and the exit suddenly seemed like an excellent idea. **

Some people chuckled despite the tense atmosphere.

**Mrs. Dodds stalked up the aisle, just as she used to do in class, about to deliver my F-math test. Every time she flicked her whip, red flames danced along the barbed leather.**

Leo frowned. "That is menacing."

**Her two ugly sisters hopped on top of the seats on either side of her and crawled toward me like huge nasty lizards.**

The demigods shivered at the thought.

**"Perseus Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said, in an accent that was definitely from somewhere farther south than Georgia. **

"No, really." Hades said sarcastically.

**"You have offended the gods. You shall die."**

**"I liked you better as a math teacher," I told her.**

"Every one likes her better as a teacher." Nico said. Then he shrugged. "She's okay as a lawyer though."

**She growled.**

**Annabeth and Grover moved up behind the Furies cautiously, looking for an opening.**

**I took the ballpoint pen out of my pocket and uncapped it. Riptide elongated into a shimmering double-edged sword.**

**The Furies hesitated.**

**Mrs. Dodds had felt Riptide's blade before. She obviously didn't like seeing it again.**

Poseidon grinned smugly.

**"Submit now," she hissed. "And you will not suffer eternal torment."**

**"Nice try," I told her.**

**"Percy, look out!" Annabeth cried.**

**Mrs. Dodds lashed her whip around my sword hand while the Furies on the either side lunged at me.**

**My hand felt like it was wrapped in molten lead, **

Thalia shivered, remembering that feeling.

**but I managed not to drop Riptide. I stuck the Fury on the left with its hilt, sending her toppling backward into a seat. I turned and sliced the Fury on the right. As soon as the blade connected with her neck, she screamed and exploded into dust. Annabeth got Mrs. Dodds in a wrestler's hold **

Ares looked mildly impressed.

**and yanked her backward while Grover ripped the whip out of her hands.**

**"Ow!" he yelled. "Ow! Hot! Hot!"**

**The Fury I'd hilt-slammed came at me again, talons ready, but I swung Riptide and she broke open like a piñata.**

**Mrs. Dodds was trying to get Annabeth off her back. She kicked, clawed, hissed and bit, but Annabeth held on while Grover got Mrs. Dodd's legs tied up in her own whip. Finally they both shoved her backward into the aisle. Mrs. Dodds tried to get up, but she didn't have room to flap her bat wings, so she kept falling down.**

Chris smiled. "That's actually a funny mental image."

**"Zeus will destroy you!" she promised. "Hades will have your soul!"**

**"**_**Braccas meas vescimini**_**!" I yelled.**

**I wasn't sure where the Latin came from.**

"Neither am I." Jason said. He was mildly impressed also.

**I think it meant "Eat my pants!"**

Several people chuckled.

**Thunder shook the bus. The hair rose on the back of my neck.**

**"Get out!" Annabeth yelled at me. "Now!" I didn't need any encouragement.**

Connor sighed. "Of course he would listen to you. You don't do easy remember."

He got slapped on the back of the head.

**We rushed outside and found the other passengers wandering around in a daze, arguing with the driver, or running around in circles yelling, "We're going to die!" **

Everyone burst out laughing at the image.

**A Hawaiian-shirted tourist with a camera snapped my photograph before I could recap my sword.**

Poseidon mentally cursed.

**"Our bags!" Grover realized. "We left our—"**

_**BOOOOOM**_**!**

**The windows of the bus exploded as the passengers ran for cover. Lightning shredded a huge crater in the roof, but an angry wail from inside told me Mrs. Dodds was not yet dead.**

Now Poseidon glared at Zeus and Hades.

**"Run!" Annabeth said. "She's calling for reinforcements! We have to get out of here!"**

Travis turned to Annabeth with a questioning look on his face. "Do you know how to speak fury or something?"

"What?"

"You said she was calling for reinforcements after you heard _one_ wail. So do you know how to speak fury?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "No. I was just taking a good guess of what she was probably doing."

"Oh."

**We plunged into the woods as the rain poured down, the bus in flames behind us, and nothing but darkness ahead.**

Hades scoffed. "And I thought Zeus was dramatic."

Demeter turned to Hades. "Remember, it's a cousin thing."

Everyone other than the two rolled their eyes.


	13. Garden Gnome Emporiums

"**We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium," **Piper read.

**In a way, it's nice to know there are Greek gods out there, **

Zeus smiled. "It's nice to know that some people like our existence."

The other gods smiled. Poseidon frowned. "I don't think that's why he said that."

Thalia agreed. "Knowing Percy he's only saying that to blame you all."

**because you have somebody to blame when things go wrong.**

Demeter tensed and then sighed heavily. "I told you all it was a cousin thing." She turned to Thalia. "It's alright sweetie, well get you some help before it completely takes over your mind."

The others either chuckled or shook their heads at Demeter.

Hades smiled. "Even though he's Roman, it's only a matter of time before it happens to Jason."

Hades turned to him and sighed like what was going to happen was inevitable.

**For instance, when you're walking away from a bus that's just been attacked by monster hags and blown up by lightning, and it's raining on top of everything else, most people might think that's just really bad luck;**

Connor shrugged. "Or you're just Percy."

Travis agreed. "There's actually a big difference."

Poseidon looked at the two. "And what is that difference?"

Travis furrowed his eyebrows. "I forgot."

Nico looked up. "I remember. Bad luck is something that's bound to happen and Percy is someone that's unpredictable and restless. In other words, Percy's more dangerous."

Clarisse looked at Nico. "That is so true. Maybe you're not that crazy after all."

**when you're a half-blood, you understand that some divine force really is trying to mess up your day.**

**So there we were, Annabeth and Grover and I, walking through the woods along the New Jersey riverbank, the glow of New York City making the night sky yellow behind us, and the smell of the Hudson reeking in our noses.**

**Grover was shivering and braying, his big goat eyes turned slit-pupiled and full of terror.**

**"Three Kindly Ones. All three at once."**

At this Athena and Poseidon glared at Hades.

**I was pretty much in shock myself. The explosion of bus windows still rang in my ears. But Annabeth kept pulling us along, saying: "Come on! The farther away we get, the better."**

Athena nodded. That was a good plan.

**"All our money was back there," I reminded her. "Our food and clothes. Everything."**

Poseidon frowned.

**"Well, maybe if you hadn't decided to jump into the fight—"**

**"What did you want me to do? Let you get killed?"**

**"You didn't need to protect me, Percy. I would've been fine."**

Aphrodite sighed happily.

**"Sliced like sandwich bread," Grover put in, "but fine."**

**"Shut up, goat boy," said Annabeth.**

Chris stood up and looked at Thalia. "See, even Annabeth agrees with the name."

Thalia rolled her eyes and re-adjusted the focus on the camera.

**Grover brayed mournfully. "Tin cans ... a perfectly good bag of tin cans."**

Several people rolled their eyes.

**We sloshed across mushy ground, through nasty twisted trees that smelled like sour laundry.**

Thalia shivered. She remembered stumbling along places like that on the hunt.

**After a few minutes, Annabeth fell into line next to me. "Look, I..." Her voice faltered. "I appreciate your coming back for us, okay? That was really brave."**

Aphrodite sniffled a bit. "You kids these days are so cute I think I'm going to cry."

Connor looked up. "No, no. Don't do that."

Everyone else just smiled or shook their heads.

**"We're a team, right?"**

"Isn't that true?" Nico said.

All of the other demigods except for Piper, Jason, and Leo nodded.

"If there ever came a time when they didn't know what they meant then we'd all know the world was going to end." Katie said.

"Kind of like in our time period." Clarisse whispered low enough for the demigods to hear.

Athena who heard her mutter something but not completely said, "What did you say Clarisse?"

Clarisse looked up at Athena and said, "Nothing important right now. Keep reading Piper."

**She was silent for a few more steps. "It's just that if you died ... aside from the fact that it would really suck for you, it would mean the quest was over. This may be my only chance to see the real world."**

Everyone except Poseidon laughed a little while Annabeth rolled her eyes. Poseidon scrutinized Annabeth but then gave up on it. It wasn't worth it.

**The thunderstorm had finally let up. The city glow faded behind us, leaving us in almost total dar****kness. I couldn't see anything of Annabeth except a glint of her blond hair.**

**"You haven't left Camp Half-Blood since you were seven?" I asked her.**

**"No ... only short field trips. My dad—"**

**"The history professor."**

**"Yeah. It didn't work out for me living at home. I mean, Camp Half-Blood **_**is **_**my home." She was rushing her words out now, as if she were afraid somebody might try to stop her.**

**"At camp you train and train. And that's all cool and everything, but the real world is where the monsters are. That's where you learn whether you're any good or not."**

**If I didn't know better, I could've sworn I heard doubt in her voice.**

**"You're pretty good with that knife," I said.**

**"You think so?"**

**"Anybody who can piggyback-ride a Fury is okay by me."**

**I couldn't really see, but I thought she might've smiled.**

"Like she's doing right now." Connor said.

Some of the demigods chuckled while Annabeth's face flushed.

Aphrodite smiled. "And so a beautiful relationship blossoms through the couple." If there was a darker shade of red, Annabeth's face would be that color right now.

Now all of the gods smiled at Poseidon and Athena. Poseidon sunk into his seat while Athena face-palmed.

**"You know," she said, "maybe I should tell you ... Something funny back on the bus ..."**

**Whatever she wanted to say was interrupted by a shrill **_**toot-toot-toot, **_**like the sound of an owl being tortured.**

Athena frowned while everyone else clamped a hand over their mouths to try to stop laughing. Apollo, who couldn't contain his laughter, burst out laughing and soon everyone was rolling on the floor with laughter. Athena rolled her eyes and sighed waiting for them to collect theirselves.

Even Annabeth giggled a little. She wished Percy were here. She missed their stupid conversations and stupid fights. But most importantly she missed how he had a funny way of making her smile.

**"Hey, my reed pipes still work!" Grover cried.**

Everyone chuckled a little. Of course, that's what would make the sound.

**"If I could just remember a 'find path' song, we could get out of these woods!"**

Thalia groaned. This was not going to work out well.

**He puffed out a few notes, but the tune still sounded suspiciously like Hilary Duff.**

Leo chuckled. "So macho." Jason, Piper, and Annabeth smiled a bit remembering what Leo had said to Butch on that day on the chariot.

**Instead of finding a path, I immediately slammed into a tree and got a nice-size knot on my head.**

Thalia turned to Katie. "Didn't he fail at nature magic?"

"Yeah."

**Add to the list of superpowers I did **_**not **_**have: infrared vision.**

Everyone turned to the Stolls who shrugged. "Were not going to write that down." Travis said.

"Were too lazy to do that." Connor agreed.

Katie rolled her eyes. "And yet you're lazy enough to write down blackmail or lying lessons for people?"

"Exactly." Connor said.

Travis put an arm around Katie and sighed. "She understands me _so_ well."

Some of the gods stared at him while others cracked a smile. Katie rolled her eyes at him and Connor wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

**After tripping and cursing and generally feeling miserable for another mile or so, **

Aphrodite shivered. That was something that she did not want to go through.

Artemis looked thoughtful. "I wonder if my hunters are in that area."

Athena thought about it. "Probably not. Dionysus mentioned an emergency meeting that he had to attend at Olympus. If you attended it also, then it would have pushed you and your hunters back by a couple of hours. Also, don't forget that you travel by foot while they went by bus and you also went in opposite directions."

Artemis nodded.

Chris shook his head. "I could _not_ follow that."

**I started to see light up ahead: the colors of a neon sign. I could smell food. Fried, greasy, excellent food.**

Demeter furrowed her eyebrows while the boys salvated.

"The words: greasy, excellent, fried, and food do _not_ belong in the same sentence unless you're talking about food that is _not_ greasy and fried."

Hades shook his head. "What do you know lady? You haven't had some type of junk food since the day you were born and I offered you some."

Demeter huffed and was about to retort when Zeus said. "Oh, no. Not this conversation again. How many millenium do you two have to fight over that? I mean come on."

Poseidon sighed. "You're making it worse, Zeus."

"Who cares?" Nico snapped. "It's fried, greasy, excellent food. I agree with Percy."

Demeter shook her head. This all revolves around cousins.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "This coming from the person who feeds the dead happy meals."

At the mention of a happy meal, Connor and Travis fainted. Connor landed on Rachel. Again.

While Katie managed to catch Travis and put his head on her lap. Rachel looked down and sighed. "I swear he has a magnetic pull towards me."

Everyone chuckled.

Jason didn't think he heard right, "Happy meals?"

Annabeth sighed. "It's a long story."

"Read Piper."

**I realized I hadn't eaten anything unhealthy since I'd arrived at Half-Blood Hill, where we lived on grapes, bread, cheese, and extra-lean-cut nymph-prepared barbecue. This boy needed a double cheeseburger.**

Artemis rolled her eyes. _Totally ruled by their stomachs._

Thalia however, smiled. "I agree."

Some people cracked a smile.

Annabeth looked at Percy. "You and Percy have like an addiction to double cheeseburgers."

Nico scoffed. "_Addiction?" _He asked incredulous. "It's like their holy grail."

"Shut up death boy." Thalia said. Nico scowled at his nick name. "It's your holy grail too, so don't diss your cousins."

Nico rolled his eyes but didn't say anything.

**We kept walking until I saw a deserted two-lane road through the trees. On the other side was a closed-down gas station, a tattered billboard for a 1990s movie, and one open business, which was the source of the neon light and the good smell.**

**It wasn't a fast-food restaurant like I'd hoped. It was one of those weird roadside curio shops that sell lawn flamingos and wooden Indians and cement grizzly bears and stuff like that. The main building was a long, low warehouse, surrounded by acres of statuary. The neon sign above the gate was impossible for me to read, because if there's anything worse for my dyslexia than regular English, it's red cursive neon English.**

Clarisse grimaced. She agreed with Percy. Although she would never say that outloud.

**To me, it looked like: **_**ATNYU MES GDERAN GOMEN MEPROUIM.**_

Apollo raised an eyebrow and looked at Hermes. He shrugged.

**"What the heck does that say?" I asked.**

**"I don't know," Annabeth said.**

**She loved reading so much, I'd forgotten she was dyslexic, too.**

"At one point, we all did." Clarisse said.

**Grover translated: "Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium."**

Poseidon shifted. "Why does that sound familiar?"

Athena cocked her head. "Aunty Em..."

Annabeth sat up. This was the attack by Medusa.

Dionysus face-palmed. Athena and Poseidon were agreeing on something again. Something bad was bound to happen.

**Flanking the entrance, as advertised, were two cement garden gnomes, ugly bearded little runts, smiling and waving, as if they were about to get their picture taken.**

Athena grimaced, reallizing what was happening. She turned to Annabeth. "They were, weren't they?"

Annabeth nodded. Poseidon raised an eyebrow. _Why was Athena so worried about two gnomes getting their picture taken? Unless it was who was taking their picture..._ His eyes bugged out. This was not good.

**I crossed the street, following the smell of the hamburgers.**

Clarisse sat up. "The food must be enchanted."

Chris raised an eyebrow. "Why would they be enchanted? Unless... it's a monster's lair."

They all looked at Annabeth. "Yeah... but I'm not telling you which monster."

**"Hey ..." Grover warned.**

**"The lights are on inside," Annabeth said. "Maybe it's open."**

**"Snack bar," I said wistfully.**

**"Snack bar," she agreed.**

**"Are you two crazy?" **

"Yes." Was the general answer. Annabeth frowned.

**Grover said. "This place is weird."**

**We ignored him.**

Athena and Poseidon groaned.

**The front lot was a forest of statues: cement animals, cement children, even a cement satyr playing the pipes, which gave Grover the creeps.**

_**"Bla-ha-ha!" **_**he bleated. "Looks like my Uncle Ferdinand!"**

Annabeth smiled wryly.

Thalia frowned. "Stone statues?"

Annabeth nodded, Thalia would figure it out soon.

**We stopped at the warehouse door.**

**"Don't knock," Grover pleaded. "I smell monsters."**

"Don't knock!" Nearly everyone screamed.

**"Your nose is clogged up from the Furies," Annabeth told him.**

Nico groaned. "And now Annabeth is under the spell too."

Everyone else groaned. "You do know that I'm right here? Right?" Annabeth asked.

Everyone ignored her. They were too caught up in the book to care.

**"All I smell is burgers. Aren't you hungry?"**

**"Meat!" he said scornfully. "I'm a vegetarian."**

**"You eat cheese enchiladas and aluminum cans," I reminded him.**

Apollo rolled his eyes. "Even I know that that's not meat."

**"Those are vegetables. **

"There is no way on Earth that those are vegetables." Clarisse stated.

Ironically, Demeter agreed.

**Come on. Let's leave. These statues are ... looking at me."**

**Then the door creaked open, and standing in front of us was a tall Middle Eastern woman—at least, I assumed she was Middle Eastern, because she wore a long black gown that covered everything but her hands, and her head was completely veiled. Her eyes glinted behind a curtain of black gauze, but that was about all I could make out. Her coffee-colored hands looked old, but well-manicured and elegant, so I imagined she was a grandmother who had once been a beautiful lady.**

Athena scoffed while Poseidon smiled, remembering how Medusa once looked like.

**Her accent sounded vaguely Middle Eastern, too. She said, "Children, it is too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents?"**

**"They're ... um ..." Annabeth started to say.**

**"We're orphans," I said.**

Everyone snorted. Travis turned to Annabeth. "Next time, he should just leave the lying to you. Even if you have no idea what-so-ever what to say."

"Sure you'd be standing there for a while trying to think of a good explanation, but at least it would be a _good_ explanation." Connor stated.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "When did you two wake up?"

"Thirty seconds ago." They were still in the same position as before. Rachel pushed Connor off of her and he landed with a thud while Katie just sighed and ran her hand through Travis's hair.

He relaxed at the feel of her hand through his hair.

**"Orphans?" the woman said. The word sounded alien in her mouth. "But, my dears! Surely not!"**

**"We got separated from our caravan," I said. "Our circus caravan.**

Hermes snorted. "At least he's working on the lie."

**The ringmaster told us to meet him at the gas station if we got lost, but he may have forgotten, or maybe he meant a different gas station. Anyway, we're lost. Is that food I smell?"**

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Straight to the point."

**"Oh, my dears," the woman said. "You must come in, poor children. I am Aunty Em. Go straight through to the back of the warehouse, please. There is a dining area."**

**We thanked her and went inside.**

**Annabeth muttered to me, "Circus caravan?"**

"Thank you." Hermes said.

**"Always have a strategy, right?"**

**"Your head is full of kelp."**

Everyone laughed. Thalia stood up dramtically and pointed at Nico. "See, I told you kelp head was a better name than aqua dude."

"It is not!"

"Yes it is. Annabeth agrees with me."

"Well-"

"We should keep on reading the book." Annabeth said.

The two kids shrugged and then waited for Piper to keep reading.

**The warehouse was filled with more statues—people in all different poses, wearing all different outfits and with different expressions on their faces. I was thinking you'd have to have a pretty huge garden to fit even one of these statues, because they were all life-size. But mostly, I was thinking about food.**

Poseidon groaned. "Stupid...enchanted... greasy...food...Medusa...Athena...stone...girlfriend..."

**Go ahead, call me an idiot for walking into a strange lady's shop like that just because I was hungry,**

Everyone sighed waiting for _some_ idiot to say: _You're an idiot._

Ironically no one said anything. Piper began to read, though a little conscious. She was sure someone was going to say something.

**but I do impulsive stuff sometimes. Plus, you've never smelled Aunty Em's burgers. The aroma was like laughing gas in the dentist's chair—it made everything else go away. **

Connor and Travis grinned. Yet another idea for another great prank.

**I barely noticed Grover's nervous whimpers, or the way the statues' eyes seemed to follow me, or the fact that Aunty Em had locked the door behind us.**

Artemis sat up. "That is not good."

"No." Poseidon said. He had gotten so depressed that his hair had turned a little bit grey.

**All I cared about was finding the dining area. And sure enough, there it was at the back of the warehouse, a fast-food counter with a grill, a soda fountain, a pretzel heater, and a nacho cheese dispenser. Everything you could want, plus a few steel picnic tables out front.**

Travis sighed in a daze.

**"Please, sit down," Aunty Em said.**

**"Awesome," I said.**

"No." Leo said. "Not awesome." He didn't know who this lady was but she sounded a little like Geae. That was good enough for him not to trust her.

**"Um," Grover said reluctantly, "we don't have any money, ma'am."**

**Before I could jab him in the ribs, Aunty Em said, "No, no, children. No money. This is a special case, yes? It is my treat, for such nice orphans."**

**"Thank you, ma'am," Annabeth said.**

**Aunty Em stiffened, as if Annabeth had done something wrong, but then the old woman relaxed just as quickly, so I figured it must've been my imagination.**

Clarisse's eyes bugged out. _How did those three get out of this? _

**"Quite all right, Annabeth," she said. "You have such beautiful gray eyes, child." Only later did I wonder how she knew Annabeth's name, even though we had never introduced ourselves.**

**Our hostess disappeared behind the snack counter and started cooking. Before we knew it, she'd brought us plastic trays heaped with double cheeseburgers, **

Thalia and Nico smiled.

**vanilla shakes, and XXL servings of French fries.**

**I was halfway through my burger before I remembered to breathe.**

**Annabeth slurped her shake.**

**Grover picked at the fries, and eyed the tray's waxed paper liner as if he might go for that, **

Aphrodite frowned, that was not good for your skin.

**but he still looked too nervous to eat.**

**"What's that hissing noise?" he asked.**

**I listened, but didn't hear anything. Annabeth shook her head.**

**"Hissing?" Aunty Em asked. "Perhaps you hear the deep-fryer oil. You have keen ears, Grover."**

"Grover never introduced himself."

**"I take vitamins. For my ears."**

Hermes furrowed his eyebrows. "I thought Grover couldn't lie."

Connor shrugged. "It was probably a planned lie. That's probably what satyrs rehearse to say if anyone asks them about their hearing."

**"That's admirable," she said. "But please, relax."**

**Aunty Em ate nothing. She hadn't taken off her head dress, even to cook, and now she sat forward and interlaced her fingers and watched us eat. It was a little unsettling, having someone stare at me when I couldn't see her face, but I was feeling satisfied after the burger, and a little sleepy, and I figured the least I could do was try to make small talk with our hostess.**

Everyone who had figured it out sighed.

**"So, you sell gnomes," I said, trying to sound interested.**

**"Oh, yes," Aunty Em said. "And animals. And people. Anything for the garden. Custom orders. Statuary is very popular, you know."**

**"A lot of business on this road?"**

**"Not so much, no. Since the highway was built... most cars, they do not go this way now. I must cherish every customer I get."**

Thalia, who had figured out what was happening earlier in the chapter scowled.

**My neck tingled, as if somebody else was looking at me. I turned, but it was just a statue of a young girl holding an Easter basket. **

Athena and Poseidon grimaced.

**The detail was incredible, much better than you see in most garden statues.**

Nico cocked his head.

**But something was wrong with her face. It looked as if she were startled, or even terrified.**

Hades sagged his shoulders. They were going against Medusa. It would be a miracle if they survived.

**"Ah," Aunty Em said sadly. "You notice some of my creations do not turn out well. They are marred. They do not sell. The face is the hardest to get right. Always the face."**

Clarisse frowned and said sarcastically, "I wonder why?"

**"You make these statues yourself?" I asked.**

**"Oh, yes. Once upon a time, I had two sisters to help me in the business, but they have passed on, and Aunty Em is alone. I have only my statues. This is why I make them, you see. They are my company." The sadness in her voice sounded so deep and so real that I couldn't help feeling sorry for her.**

"Of course you couldn't." Athena said.

Poseidon glared at her half-heartedly.

**Annabeth had stopped eating. She sat forward and said, "Two sisters?"**

"Finally!" Everyone who had figured it out said. The others jumped.

**"It's a terrible story," Aunty Em said. "Not one for children, really. You see, Annabeth, a bad woman was jealous of me, **

Athena scoffed. "_Jealous? _I was _not_ jealous of her."

Anyone who didn't understand then, did now.

**long ago, when I was young.**

**I had a... a boyfriend, **

The gods coughed nervously while Poseidon glared at them all, daring them to say something.

**you know, and this bad woman was determined to break us apart. She caused a terrible accident. My sisters stayed by me. They shared my bad fortune as long as they could, but eventually they passed on. They faded away. I alone have survived, but at a price. Such a price."**

**I wasn't sure what she meant, but I felt bad for her.**

Athena mentally sighed.

**My eyelids kept getting heavier, my full stomach making m****e sleepy. Poor old lady. Who would want to hurt somebody so nice?**

"I would!" About half of the room chorused.

**"Percy?" Annabeth was shaking me to get my attention. "Maybe we should go. I mean, the ringmaster will be waiting."**

"Exactly."

**She sounded tense. I wasn't sure why. Grover was eating the waxed paper off the tray now, **

"Doesn't Grover eat objects when he gets nervous?" Nico asked.

Thalia and Annabeth nodded.

**but if Aunty Em found that strange, she didn't say anything.**

**"Such beautiful gray eyes," Aunty Em told Annabeth again. "My, yes, it has been a long time since I've seen gray eyes like those."**

Everyone looked at Annabeth and then at Athena to see that they had the same grey eyes.

**She reached out as if to stroke Annabeth's cheek, but Annabeth stood up abruptly.**

**"We really should go."**

"Yes!"

**"Yes!" Grover swallowed his waxed paper and stood up. "The ringmaster is waiting! Right!"**

**I didn't want to leave. I felt full and content. Aunty Em was so nice. I wanted to stay with her a while.**

Athena snorted. "Just like your father."

"Now wait a minute. There's no need to bring me into this-"

Zeus sighed. "How many minellium do you two have to fight over this? Read Piper."

**"Please, dears," Aunty Em pleaded. "I so rarely get to be with children. Before you go, won't you at least sit for a pose?"**

Everyone sucked in a breath.

**"A pose?" Annabeth asked warily.**

**"A photograph. I will use it to model a new statue set.**

**Children are so popular, you see. Everyone loves children."**

**Annabeth shifted her weight from foot to foot. "I don't think we can, ma'am. Come on, Percy—"**

**"Sure we can," I said.**

Now Poseidon's hair turned grey.

**I was irritated with Annabeth for being so bossy, so rude to an old lady who'd just fed us for free. "It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?"**

"Everything."

**"Yes, Annabeth," the woman purred. "No harm."**

**I could tell Annabeth didn't like it, but she allowed Aunty Em to lead us back out the front door, into the garden of statues.**

"Why?" Jason asked Annabeth.

"I needed to make sure that we had a way to get out if we needed to escape."

"Oh."

**Aunty Em directed us to a park bench next to the stone satyr. **

"Uncle Ferdinand."

**"Now," she said, "I'll just position you correctly. The young girl in the middle, I think, and the two young gentlemen on either side."**

**"Not much light for a photo," I remarked.**

**"Oh, enough," Aunty Em said. "Enough for us to see each other, yes?"**

**"Where's your camera?" Grover asked.**

"There is no camera." Hades said. Then he sighed, two more souls to join him in the underworld. (Satyrs don't have souls.)

**Aunty Em stepped back, as if to admire the shot. "Now, the face is the most difficult. Can you smile for me please, everyone? A large smile?"**

**Grover glanced at the cement satyr next to him, and mumbled, "That sure does look like Uncle Ferdinand."**

**"Grover," Aunty Em chastised, "look this way, dear."**

**She still had no camera in her hands.**

**"Percy—" Annabeth said.**

**Some instinct warned me to listen to Annabeth, **

"See." Connor said. "I told you he listens to people who don't do easy."

The others smiled while Annabeth gave up defending herself.

**but I was fighting the sleepy feeling, the comfortable lull that came from the food and the old lady's voice.**

**"I will just be a moment," Aunty Em said. "You know, I can't see you very well in this cursed veil..."**

**"Percy, something's wrong," Annabeth insisted.**

"_Very_ wrong."

**"Wrong?" Aunty Em said, reaching up to undo the wrap around her head. "Not at all, dear. I have such noble company tonight. What could be wrong?"**

**"That **_**is **_**Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover gasped.**

**"Look away from her!" Annabeth shouted. She whipped her Yankees cap onto her head and vanished. Her invisible hands pushed Grover and me both off the bench.**

Everyone sighed. Poseidon's hair turned back to white but didn't turn back to black.

"At least someone's doing something." Ares said. He was tired that there wasn't that much action.

**I was on the ground, looking at Aunt Em's sandaled feet.**

**I could hear Grover scrambling off in one direction, Annabeth in another. But I was too dazed to move.**

**Then I heard a strange, rasping sound above me. My eyes rose to Aunty Em's hands, which had turned gnarled and warty, with sharp bronze talons for fingernails.**

Aphrodite shivered. "Someone needs a manicure."

Usually, Piper would roll her eyes at something like this but after hearing that description, she agreed whole-heartedly with her mom.

**I almost looked higher, but somewhere off to my left Annabeth screamed, "No! Don't!"**

Connor smiled smugly.

Poseidon sighed relieved. He was blessed that Annabeth was there. It kept Percy from dying.

**More rasping—the sound of tiny snakes, right above me, from ... from about where Aunty Em's head would be.**

The room got tense at this.

**"Run!" Grover bleated. I heard him racing across the gravel, yelling, **_**"Maia!" **_**to kick-start his flying sneakers.**

Hermes smiled, glad that his shoes were of service.

**I couldn't move. I stared at Aunty Em's gnarled claws, and tried to fight the groggy trance the old woman had put me in.**

**"Such a pity to destroy a handsome young face," she told me soothingly. "Stay with me, Percy. All you have to do is look up."**

**I fought the urge to obey. Instead I looked to one side and saw one of those glass spheres people put in gardens— a gazing ball. I could see Aunty Em's dark reflection in the orange glass; her headdress was gone, revealing her face as a shimmering pale circle. Her hair was moving, writhing like serpents.**

**Aunty Em.**

**Aunty "M."**

"He finally realises." Athena said.

No one bothered to answer or argue with her. They were too caught up in the book.

**How could I have been so stupid?**

"_Idiot!"_ Connor yelled, causing everyone to jump.

Rachel smacked his head. "Now you say it? When he might die you yell idiot?" Rachel's face was red with anger and Connor cowered in his seat.

The gods watched this. As they glanced at each other, the same thought went throught their minds, _Was Annabeth Chase the only girl that Percy Jackson had ever been involved with?_

**Think, I told myself. How did Medusa die in the myth?**

**But I couldn't think. Something told me that in the myth Medusa had been asleep when she was attacked by my namesake, Perseus. She wasn't anywhere near asleep now. If she wanted, she could take those talons right now and rake open my face.**

"She could," Leo said. "But she's too soft on you to care."

**"The Gray-Eyed One did this to me, Percy," Medusa said, and she didn't sound anything like a monster. Her voice invited me to look up, to sympathize with a poor old grandmother. "Annabeth's mother, the cursed Athena, turned me from a beautiful woman into this."**

**"Don't listen to her!" Annabeth's voice shouted, some where in the statuary. "Run, Percy!"**

**"Silence!" Medusa snarled. Then her voice modulated back to a comforting purr. "You see why I must destroy the girl, Percy. She is my enemy's daughter. **

"You have a _lot_ of enemies Athena." Nico said. "I mean, there's Poseidon, Ares," He put up a finger for each name he said. "Medusa, and Arachne."

Athena and Annabeth shivered at the last one, though no one noticed.

**I shall crush her statue to dust. But you, dear Percy, you need not suffer."**

**"No," I muttered. I tried to make my legs move.**

**"Do you really want to help the gods?" Medusa asked. "Do you understand what awaits you on this foolish quest, Percy? What will happen if you reach the Underworld? Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dear. **

The demigods shifted slightly at this.

**You would be better off as a statue. Less pain. Less pain."**

**"Percy!" Behind me, I heard a buzzing sound, like a two-hundred-pound hummingbird in a nosedive. Grover yelled, "Duck!"**

**I turned, and there he was in the night sky, flying in from twelve o'clock with his winged shoes fluttering, Grover, holding a tree branch the size of a baseball bat. His eyes were shut tight, his head twitched from side to side. He was navigating by ears and nose alone.**

**"Duck!" he yelled again. "I'll get her!"**

**That finally jolted me into action. Knowing Grover, I was sure he'd miss Medusa and nail me.**

**I dove to one side.**

_**Thwack!**_

**At first I figured it was the sound of Grover hitting a tree. Then Medusa roared with rage.**

The occupants in the room whooped and cheered, especially Apollo, who had practice cheering like a cheerleader.

**"You miserable satyr," she snarled. "I'll add you to my collection!"**

**"That was for Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover yelled back.**

Dionysus smiled fondly. Satyrs were such stubborn creachers some times.

**I scrambled away and hid in the statuary while Grover swooped down for another pass.**

_**Ker-whack!**_

**"Arrgh!" Medusa yelled, her snake-hair hissing and spitting.**

Thalia and Nico smiled fondly.

"That's my satyr." Nico said. "Always going off and hitting Medusa on the head."

"Or throwing tin cans at furies." Thalia agreed.

Demeter sighed and turned to Zeus. "I'm afraid that it's too late for Thalia."

The others rolled their eyes and Piper kept on reading.

**Right next to me, Annabeth's voice said, "Percy!"**

**I jumped so high my feet nearly cleared a garden gnome. "Jeez! Don't do that!"**

**Annabeth took off her Yankees cap and became visible. "You have to cut her head off."**

**"What? Are you crazy? **

"It's a rhetoricle question." Annabeth said. "Don't answer it."

Half the room looked ready to say either yes or no.

**Let's get out of here."**

**"Medusa is a menace. She's evil. I'd kill her myself, but..." Annabeth swallowed, as if she were about to make a difficult admission. **

The Stolls suddenly payed more attention at those words. _Could it be more blackmail?_

**"But you've got the better weapon. Besides, I'd never get close to her. She'd slice me to bits because of my mother. You—you've got a chance."**

Travis and Connor frowned. That wasn't really blackmail. The children of Athena admit they're wrong every once in a while. This was not a big deal. Sure it was to the son of Poseidon but still.

**"What? I can't—"**

**"Look, do you want her turning more innocent people into statues?"**

**She pointed to a pair of statue lovers, a man and a woman with their arms around each other, turned to stone by the monster.**

Everyone grimaced.

**Annabeth grabbed a green gazing ball from a nearby pedestal. "A polished shield would be better." **

Athena nodded. With a polished shield you could see better and have a better chance of chopping off Medusa's head.

**She studied the sphere critically. "The convexity will cause some distortion. The reflection's size should be off by a factor of—"**

"What?"

Annabeth sighed and didn't bother to answer.

Thalia addressed the group. "In child of Athena speak that means that you might not be able to see clearly."

"Oh."

Leo looked at Thalia. "How'd you know that? I mean, I'm not calling you dumb. I'm just curious to how you know that."

Thalia raised her eyebrow. "Annabeth is my longest surviving friend."

"Oh."

**"Would you speak English?"**

**"I **_**am!" **_**She tossed me the glass ball.**

**"Just look at her in the glass. **_**Never **_**look at her directly."**

**"Hey, guys!" Grover yelled somewhere above us. "I think she's unconscious!"**

_**"Roooaaarrr!"**_

**"Maybe not," Grover corrected. **

Leo smirked. "You think?"

**He went in for another pass with the tree branch.**

**"Hurry," Annabeth told me. "Grover's got a great nose, but he'll eventually crash."**

Dionysus turned to Annabeth. "It's so great how much faith you have for your satyr."

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. Who knew Dionysus actually cared?

**I took out my pen and uncapped it. The bronze blade of Riptide elongated in my hand.**

**I followed the hissing and spitting sounds of Medusa's hair.**

**I kept my eyes locked on the gazing ball so I would only glimpse Medusa's reflection, not the real thing. Then, in the green tinted glass, I saw her.**

**Grover was coming in for another turn at bat, but this time he flew a little too low. Medusa grabbed the stick and pulled him off course. He tumbled through the air and crashed into the arms of a stone grizzly bear with a painful "Ummphh!"**

Some people chuckled at the image.

"See." Annabeth said.

Dionysus huffed but didn't say anything.

**Medusa was about to lunge at him when I yelled, "Hey!"**

**I advanced on her, which wasn't easy, holding a sword and a glass ball. If she charged, I'd have a hard time defending myself.**

**But she let me approach—twenty feet, ten feet.**

Clarisse scowled. "Why would she do that?"

"Some monsters have been proven to be real idiots." Katie said.

Ares smiled. "You all act like you don't like that fact."

**I could see the reflection of her face now. Surely it wasn't really **_**that **_**ugly. The green swirls of the gazing ball must be distorting it, making it look worse.**

"No." Hermes said. "Sadly, Athena has an amazing imagination."

Athena just shook her head at Hermes.

**"You wouldn't harm an old woman, Percy," she crooned. "I know you wouldn't."**

**I hesitated, fascinated by the face I saw reflected in the glass—the eyes that seemed to burn straight through the green tint, making my arms go weak.**

Poseidon's face creased with worry for a second.

**From the cement grizzly, Grover moaned, "Percy, don't listen to her!"**

**Medusa cackled. "Too late."**

**She lunged at me with her talons.**

Poseidon was on the edge of his throne now.

**I slashed up with my sword, heard a sickening **_**shlock!,**_** then a hiss like wind rushing out of a cavern—the sound of a monster disintegrating.**

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

**Something fell to the ground next to my foot. It took all my willpower not to look. I could feel warm ooze soaking into my sock, little dying snake heads tugging at my shoelaces.**

The demigods shivered.

**"Oh, yuck," Grover said. His eyes were still tightly closed, but I guess he could hear the thing gurgling and steaming. "Mega-yuck."**

Aphrodite nodded. "For once, I agree with the satyr."

**Annabeth came up next to me, her eyes fixed on the sky. She was holding Medusa's black veil. She said, "Don't move."**

**Very, very carefully, without looking down, she knelt and draped the monster's head in black cloth, then picked it up. It was still dripping green juice.**

"Eww."

**"Are you okay?" she asked me, her voice trembling.**

**"Yeah," I decided, though I felt like throwing up my double cheeseburger. **

Thalia and Nico frowned.

**"Why didn't ... why didn't the head evaporate?"**

**"Once you sever it, it becomes a spoil of war," she said. "Same as your minotaur horn. But don't unwrap the head. It can still petrify you."**

**Grover moaned as he climbed down from the grizzly statue. **

Some people chuckled. They had forgotten that Grover was still on the grizzly statue.

**He had a big welt on his forehead. His green rasta cap hung from one of his little goat horns, and his fake feet had been knocked off his hooves. The magic sneakers were flying aimlessly around his head.**

Travis grinned. "I get it. It's like in cartoons, when the guy gets hit on the head and when he's knocked out on the floor imaginary little birds fly around his head."

"Oh."

Katie shook her head. "You watch too many cartoons."

Travis pouted but then smiled when she ran her hand through his hair.

**"The Red Baron," I said. "Good job, man."**

**He managed a bashful grin. "That really was **_**not **_**fun, though. Well, the hitting-her-with-a-stick part, that was fun. **

The demigods smiled. "Of course that part was fun." Ares grinned.

**But crashing into a concrete bear? **_**Not **_**fun."**

**He snatched his shoes out of the air. I recapped my sword. Together, the three of us stumbled back to the ware house.**

**We found some old plastic grocery bags behind the snack counter and double-wrapped Medusa's head. We plopped it on the table where we'd eaten dinner and sat around it, too exhausted to speak.**

**Finally I said, "So we have Athena to thank for this monster?"**

Poseidon nodded and Athena huffed. Before she could get started on her rant, Piper read.

**Annabeth flashed me an irritated look. "Your dad, actually. Don't you remember? Medusa was Poseidon's girlfriend. They decided to meet in my mother's temple. **

"Which if you ask me, was a really stupid thing to do." Apollo said.

"_Yes._" Poseidon said seething. "But no one asked you."

**That's why Athena turned her into a monster. Medusa and her two sisters who had helped her get into the temple, they became the three gorgons. That's why Medusa wanted to slice me up, but she wanted to preserve you as a nice statue. She's still sweet on your dad. **

Poseidon grimaced while the other gods smiled.

**You probably reminded her of him."**

Athena nodded, feeling as this was a good explanation.

**My face was burning. "Oh, so now it's **_**my **_**fault we met Medusa."**

**Annabeth straightened. In a bad imitation of my voice, she said: "'It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?'"**

Some people chuckled while Poseidon stuttered excuses for his son.

**"Forget it," I said. "You're impossible."**

**"You're insufferable."**

**"You're—"**

Aphrodite smiled. "A lover's quarrel."

Annabeth's face flushed deeply.

**"Hey!" Grover interrupted. "You two are giving me a migraine, and satyrs don't even **_**get **_**migraines. What are we going to do with the head?"**

**I stared at the thing. One little snake was hanging out of a hole in the plastic. The words printed on the side of the bag said: WE APPRECIATE YOUR BUSINESS!**

**I was angry, not just with Annabeth or her mom, but with all the gods for this whole quest, for getting us blown off the road and in two major fights the very first day out from camp. At this rate, we'd never make it to L.A. alive, much less before the summer solstice.**

Nico shook his head. "Such a pessimist."

**What had Medusa said?**

_**Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dear. You would be better off as a statue.**_

The demigods looked away from the gods again.

**I got up. "I'll be back."**

**"Percy," Annabeth called after me. "What are you—"**

**I searched the back of the warehouse until I found Medusa's office. Her account book showed her six most recent sales, all shipments to the Underworld to decorate Hades and Persephone's garden. **

Some people looked at Hades questioningly. Hades shrugged. "I haven't ordered anything from Medusa yet."

Everyone looked at Nico. "_Persephone_," He said her name very carefully like he was avoiding cursing. "likes to decorate the garden with statues from Medusa that have some type of terror in them to fit the Underworld's theme."

"Oh."

**According to one freight bill, the Underworld's billing address was DOA Recording Studios, West Hollywood, California. I folded up the bill and stuffed it in my pocket.**

"Wow." Athena said. "That's good."

**In the cash register I found twenty dollars, a few golden drachmas, and some packing slips for Hermes Overnight Express, each with a little leather bag attached for coins. I rummaged around the rest of the office until I found the right-size box.**

Hermes frowned. "What's he doing?"

Annabeth sighed. "Just keep reading."

**I went back to the picnic table, packed up Medusa's head, and filled out a delivery slip:**

_**The Gods**_

The gods except for Poseidon huffed while Poseidon face-palmed.

Zeus started grumbling curses and what sounded suspisciously like death threats.

_**Mount Olympus**_

_**600th Floor,**_

_**Empire State Building**_

_**New York, NY**_

_**With best wishes,**_

They all snorted, except Poseidon, and said simultaneously, "_Best wishes?"_

The demigod's eyes, except Annabeth, were wide. They couldn't believe Percy would do this.

_**PERCY JACKSON**_

**"They're not going to like that," Grover warned. "They'll think you're impertinent."**

Thalia snorted. "He is impertinent."

**I poured some golden drachmas in the pouch. As soon as I closed it, there was a sound like a cash register. The package floated off the table and disappeared with a **_**pop!**_

**"I **_**am **_**impertinent," I said.**

Demeter sighed exasperated. Thalia shrugged at the look everyone gave her. "It's happened on more than one occasion. Percy and I are just too much alike. Don't ask me how because I don't know? Maybe Nico does."

Everyone just stared at her for a while before turning to Piper to read the book.

**I looked at Annabeth, daring her to criticize.**

**She didn't. She seemed resigned to the fact that I had a major talent for ticking off the gods. **

Annabeth sighed at the look the gods gave her. "Sadly, yes."

**"Come on," she muttered. "We need a new plan."**

Katie nodded. "An entirely new one."


	14. Advice From Poodles

**This is for all of the people who begged me to update and for everyone who reviewed.**

* * *

><p><strong>"We Get Advice from a Poodle," <strong>Jason read.

Leo looked incredulous. "There's no way it says that."

Piper looked over Jason's shoulder and shook her head. "It definitely says that."

**We were pretty miserable that night.**

**We camped out in the woods, a hundred yards from the main road, in a marshy clearing that local kids had obviously been using for parties.**

**The ground was littered with flattened soda cans and fast-food wrappers.**

Demeter scowled and was probably ready to start ranting but then all of the gods shouted, "Read! Before she starts!"

**We'd taken some food and blankets from Aunty Em's, but we didn't dare light a fire to dry our damp clothes. The Furies and Medusa had provided enough excitement for one day. We didn't want to attract anything else.**

**We decided to sleep in shifts. I volunteered to take first watch.**

**Annabeth curled up on the blankets and was snoring as soon as her head hit the ground. Grover fluttered with his flying shoes to the lowest bough of a tree, put his back to the trunk, and stared at the night sky.**

**"Go ahead and sleep," I told him. "I'll wake you if there's trouble."**

**He nodded, but still didn't close his eyes. "It makes me sad, Percy."**

**"What does? The fact that you signed up for this stupid quest?"**

"That would make me sad." Chris said. Ares scowled at him but didn'y say anything. Jason continued reading and everyone focused on the book except Clarisse. When she was sure no one was looking, she nodded her head at Chris.

Chris smiled and gave her a peck on the lips. She leaned onto his shoulder and finally tuned back in to Jason's voice. Aphrodite smiled brilliantly. She hadn't seen the couple but she had felt the giant wave of love coming from them.

**"No. This makes me sad." He pointed at all the garbage on the ground. **

Demeter nodded.

**"And the sky. You can't even see the stars. **

Artemis frowned. That was _so_ true. But then she smiled again. She remembered that Zoe liked the stars. She wondered what happened to her lieutenant but didn't ask anything. She figured that she would find out soon enough.

**They've polluted the sky. This is a terrible time to be a satyr."**

**"Oh, yeah. I guess you'd be an environmentalist."**

Annabeth sighed. So much sarcasm. It's a wonder he can speak without using sarcasm.

**He glared at me. "Only a human wouldn't be. Your species is clogging up the world so fast ... ah, never mind. It's useless to lecture a human. At the rate things are going, I'll never find Pan."**

Hermes perked up at the mention of his _other_ son.

**"Pam? Like the cooking spray?"**

Everyone rolled their eyes while Hermes looked offended. "Pan!" He cried scaring some of the room's occupants. "P-A-N! The god of the wild! My son! The one with the horns on his head and the curly hair who went missing Zeus knows how many millineum ago!"

Hermes huffed then said, "_Not_ the stupid cooking spray."

**"Pan!" he cried indignantly. "P-A-N. The great god Pan! **

"Whoa!" Apollo put up his hands. He was dressed for tennis and had a pink sweater tied around his neck. "Somebody call the inforcers-"

Artemis sighed. "We don't have enforcers Apollo."

Apollo shrugged. "Whatever. Call the Ares Cabin then. Hermes thinks like a _satyr._"

Ares frowned. "Why call my cabin? Why not me?"

"_Because,_ you're still suffering from your recent breakup with Aphrodite."

Ares's eyes bugged out. "Why you bright toothed, Ken barbie doll! I will rip you to shreads and then feed you to Artemis's wolves-"

"That's enough Ares." Zeus said. He had enjoyed this conversation but Artemis looked ready to rip _everybody_ to shreads and feed them to her wolves.

**What do you think I want a searcher's license for?"**

**A strange breeze rustled through the clearing, temporarily overpowering the stink of trash and muck. It brought the smell of berries and wildflowers and clean rain water, things that might've once been in these woods. **

Hermes's eyes bugged out. That had to be an omen from Pan. There was no way that it wasn't.

**Suddenly I was nostalgic for something I'd never known.**

**"Tell me about the search," I said.**

**Grover looked at me cautiously, as if he were afraid I was just making fun.**

**"The God of Wild Places disappeared two thousand years ago," he told me. "A sailor off the coast of Ephesos heard a mysterious voice crying out from the shore, 'Tell them that the great god Pan has died!' When humans heard the news, they believed it. They've been pillaging Pan's kingdom ever since. But for the satyrs, Pan was our lord and master. **

Hermes sighed. "And then Dionysus had to take over." Then he added as an afterthought. "I regret putting him in the same elementary school as you."

Dionysus frowned but then a memory of him and Pan when they were younger, flashed into his eyes.

_Flashback_

_Four year old Dionysus were purple overalls and a green shirt so he looked like an overgrown grape. Six years old Pan were jeans and a protect the wild t-shirt._

_Pan was being picked on by Apollo, who was mad that he had lost the music contest that Midas had judged. Dionysus usually wouldn't care but Pan looked so scared and Dionysus had to admit that Apollo looked pretty intimidating when he was mad. Besides, Dionysus wasn't mean. He just simply oozed niceness._

_Dionysus walked up to twelve year old Apollo with all of the spunk and swagger that he had in himself. He stepped between Apollo and Pan and said, "Hey buddy, pick on some one your own size!" Dionysus's voice sounded squeky and high but he wasn't the least bit afraid._

_Apollo threw his head back and laughed. "Oh yeah, and what are you going to do about it? Are you-"_

_He was interrupted because right then a four year old fist, that packed a lot of power from getting into bar fights every night when Dionysus went out, connected with Apollo's mouth and knocked him out clean._

_From that day, Apollo stopped bothering Pan and Dionysus and Pan became best friends._

Dionysus smiled broadly now and smirked at Apollo, who was rubbing his lips at the sudden reminder. Artemis looked at Apollo, "Are you okay Apollo?"

Apollo looked at Artemis and then glanced at Dionysus. "Yeah. Just fine. Read Jason."

**He protected us and the wild places of the earth. We refuse to believe that he died. In every generation, the bravest satyrs pledge their lives to finding Pan. They search the earth, exploring all the wildest places, hoping to find where he is hidden, and wake him from his sleep."**

Annabeth smiled. They didn't need to do that anymore.

**"And you want to be a searcher."**

**"It's my life's dream," he said. "My father was a searcher. And my Uncle Ferdinand ... the statue you saw back there."**

Everyone frowned.

**"Oh, right, sorry."**

**Grover shook his head. "Uncle Ferdinand knew the risks. So did my dad. But I'll succeed. I'll be the first searcher to return alive."**

Everyone who knew what Grover had accomplished smiled.

**"Hang on the first?"**

**Grover took his reed pipes out of his pocket. "No searcher has ever come back. Once they set out, they disappear. They're never seen alive again."**

**"Not once in two thousand years?"**

**"No."**

**"And your dad? You have no idea what happened to him?"**

**"None."**

**"But you still want to go," I said, amazed. "I mean, you really think you'll be the one to find Pan?"**

Connor looked thoughtful. "That takes a lot of guts. I have a whole new respect for satyrs."

Everyone else agreed.

**"I have to believe that, Percy. Every searcher does. It's the only thing that keeps us from despair when we look at what humans have done to the world. I have to believe Pan can still be awakened."**

"He's not asleep." Nico whispered low enough for Annabeth and Thalia to hear.

**I stared at the orange haze of the sky and tried to understand how Grover could pursue a dream that seemed so hopeless. Then again, was I any better?**

**"How are we going to get into the Underworld?" I asked him. "I mean, what chance do we have against a god?"**

"Exactly." Hades sneered.

**"I don't know," he admitted. "But back at Medusa's, when you were searching her office? Annabeth was telling me-"**

**"Oh, I forgot. Annabeth will have a plan all figured out."**

Annabeth scowled. She would have to get Percy for that when she got his memories back. Not if, _when._

**"Don't be so hard on her, Percy. She's had a tough life, **

All of the senior counselors snorted. That was and understatement.

**but she's a good person. After all, she forgave me..." His voice faltered.**

Thalia sighed. Grover was still on that.

**"What do you mean?" I asked. "Forgave you for what?"**

**Suddenly, Grover seemed very interested in playing notes on his pipes.**

**"Wait a minute," I said. "Your first keeper job was five years ago. Annabeth has been at camp five years. She wasn't ... I mean, your first assignment that went wrong-"**

**"I can't talk about it," Grover said, and his quivering lower lip suggested he'd start crying if I pressed him. "But as I was saying, back at Medusa's, Annabeth and I agreed there's something strange going on with this quest. Some thing isn't what it seems."**

Athena nodded. Something was definitely wrong.

**"Well, duh. I'm getting blamed for stealing a thunder bolt that Hades took."**

Hades huffed.

**"That's not what I mean," Grover said. "The Fur The Kindly Ones were sort of holding back. Like Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy ... why did she wait so long to try to kill you? Then on the bus, they just weren't as aggressive as they could've been."**

"No." Thalia shivered.

**"They seemed plenty aggressive to me."**

**Grover shook his head. "They were screeching at us: 'Where is it? Where?'"**

Zeus smirked at Poseidon. He remembered his joke about Poseidon and Percy. (AN: The joke is in chapter twelve.)

**"Asking about me," I said.**

**"Maybe ... but Annabeth and I, we both got the feeling they weren't asking about a person. They said 'Where is it?' They seemed to be asking about an object."**

**"That doesn't make sense."**

"Ha!" Hades said. "This proves that I don't have your precious teddy bear."

The room's occupants tried very hard to stiffle their laughs as Zeus glared at Hades. "But this proves that you're trying to get it."

"Oh." Hades suddenly looked self-conscious. Then he perked up. "Innocent 'til proven guilty."

**"I know. But if we've misunderstood something about this quest, and we only have nine days to find the master bolt..." He looked at me like he was hoping for answers, but I didn't have any.**

Thalia shook her head. He never does.

**I thought about what Medusa had said: I was being used by the gods. What lay ahead of me was worse than petrification. "I haven't been straight with you," I told Grover. "I don't care about the master bolt. I agreed to go to the Underworld so I could bring back my mother."**

Poseidon's worries came back. Percy couldn't barter with Hades. Hades however, smiled evilly.

**Grover blew a soft note on his pipes. "I know that, Percy. But are you sure that's the only reason?"**

**"I'm not doing it to help my father. He doesn't care about me. I don't care about him."**

Poseidon winced.

**Grover gazed down from his tree branch. "Look, Percy, I'm not as smart as Annabeth. **

Everyone sighed except for Athena and Annabeth. _Who was smarter than a child of Athena, but Athena herself?_

**I'm not as brave as you. **

Clarisse snorted. "That's not being brave. That's being reckless."

Poseidon glared at her until aome other people started to agree with her.

**But I'm pretty good at reading emotions. You're glad your dad is alive. You feel good that he's claimed you, and part of you wants to make him proud. That's why you mailed Medusa's head to Olympus. You wanted him to notice what you'd done."**

The gods thought about this with great interest.

**"Yeah? Well maybe satyr emotions work differently than human emotions. Because you're wrong. I don't care what he thinks."**

Annabeth shook her head.

**Grover pulled his feet up onto the branch. "Okay, Percy. Whatever."**

**"Besides, I haven't done anything worth bragging about. We barely got out of New York and we're stuck here with no money and no way west."**

**Grover looked at the night sky, like he was thinking about that problem. "How about I take first watch, huh? You get some sleep."**

**I wanted to protest, but he started to play Mozart, soft and sweet, and I turned away, my eyes stinging. After a few bars of Piano Concerto no. 12, I was asleep.**

**In my dreams, I stood in a dark cavern before a gaping pit.**

Annabeth shivered. She knew that pit all too well. The gods glanced at each other. They obviously knew what this was.

**Gray mist creatures churned all around me, whispering rags of smoke that I somehow knew were the spirits of the dead.**

**They tugged at my clothes, trying to pull me back, **

Everyone looked confused. Was Hades sending the dead to keep Percy from going to Tartarus?

**but I felt compelled to walk forward to the very edge of the chasm.**

**Looking down made me dizzy.**

**The pit yawned so wide and was so completely black, I knew it must be bottomless. Yet I had a feeling that some thing was trying to rise from the abyss, something huge and evil.**

The gods all glanced at the big three, who looked considerably pale.

**The little hero, an amused voice echoed far down in the darkness. Too weak, too young, but perhaps you will do.**

The deities's eyes bugged out.

**The voice felt ancient cold and heavy. It wrapped around me like sheets of lead.**

The tension grew in the room.

**They have misled you, boy, it said. Barter with me. I will give you what you want.**

**A shimmering image hovered over the void: my mother, frozen at the moment she'd dissolved in a shower of gold. Her face was distorted with pain, as if the Minotaur were still squeezing her neck. Her eyes looked directly at me, pleading: Go!**

Everyone felt sympathy for Percy, especially the demigods, who could somewhat relate to him.

**I tried to cry out, but my voice wouldn't work.**

**Cold laughter echoed from the chasm.**

**An invisible force pulled me forward. It would drag me into the pit unless I stood firm.**

**Help me rise, boy. The voice became hungrier. Bring me the bolt. Strike a blow against the treacherous gods!**

**The spirits of the dead whispered around me, No! Wake!**

Poseidon glanced at Hades, who had a confused look on his face. Maybe he _was_ trying to help Percy.

Zeus glanced at Hades. Was Hades keeping Percy from giving the titan lord the lightning bolt?

**The image of my mother began to fade. The thing in the pit tightened its unseen grip around me.**

**I realized it wasn't interested in pulling me in. It was using me to pull itself out.**

**Good, it murmured. Good.**

The tension in the room increased.

**Wake! the dead whispered. Wake!**

Everyone looked confused.

**Someone was shaking me.**

**My eyes opened, and it was daylight.**

**"Well," Annabeth said, "the zombie lives."**

Thalia turned to Annabeth. "Now, now Annabeth. We all know that the zombie is Nico here."

"Hey!"

**I was trembling from the dream. I could still feel the grip of the chasm monster around my chest. "How long was I asleep?"**

**"Long enough for me to cook breakfast." Annabeth tossed me a bag of nacho-flavored corn chips from Aunty Em's snack bar. **

Leo furrowed his eyebrows. "But you didn't cook any thing."

Annabeth sighed. "I was being sarcastic."

"Oh."

**"And Grover went exploring. Look, he found a friend."**

**My eyes had trouble focusing.**

Chris shrugged. "Or you just couldn't believe what you saw."

**Grover was sitting cross-legged on a blanket with something fuzzy in his lap, a dirty, unnaturally pink stuffed animal.**

**No. It wasn't a stuffed animal. It was a pink poodle.**

Rachel and several other nature activists in the room frowned.

**The poodle yapped at me suspiciously. Grover said, "No, he's not."**

Travis smiled mischeviously. "He's not what?"

No one bothered to answer him.

**I blinked. "Are you ... talking to that thing?"**

"He's not a thing." Rachel scowled.

**The poodle growled.**

**"This thing," Grover warned, "is our ticket west. Be nice to him."**

**"You can talk to animals?"**

**Grover ignored the question. "Percy, meet Gladiola. Gladiola, Percy."**

All of the males in the room burst out into laughter.

"A pink poodle named Gladiola?" Leo said. "I should've known."

All of the females sighed. Boys were so immature.

**I stared at Annabeth, figuring she'd crack up at this practical joke they were playing on me, **

Dionysus sighed. "Pierre must be very slow if he thinks that this is a joke."

Everyone agreed. Poseidon agreed because he was getting tired of defending his son and because it was kind of true.

**but she looked deadly serious.**

**"I'm not saying hello to a pink poodle," I said. "Forget it."**

Connor, Travis, and Leo broke a grin.

Apollo snickered. "Artemis talks to pink poodles all of the time."

The others stared at Artemis in astonishment. She sighed at her brother's antics and hit him in the head with her hunting knife. "I _do not_ talk to pink poodles. I have _never_ in my immortal life ever met a pink poodle." She looked at Apollo. "I talk to my hunting dogs because I understand them as the goddess of the hunt. They are nothing like pink poodles."

Apollo pouted and looked at Hermes. "Did you at least get that?"

Hermes nodded and then said, "I thought she would've thrown a temper tantrum 'cause..." He shrugged. "Well, she's Artemis. She _always_ throws a temper tantrum."

"Like right now." Artemis seethed. The two gods looked at her and noticed her angry deamenor. "Yup."

Then they looked away. They sat there for a while before they realized that Artemis was angry at them.

"Dude!" Hermes's eyes were bugged out. "Run!"

The two shot from their thrones with Artemis running after them and shooting them with arrows.

Everyone looked at Athena who shrugged and said, "This happens at least twice a day. The only reason this hasn't happened while we're reading this book is because they were too preoccupied to fight." Then she added as an afterthought. "Keep reading. I'll tell them what happened later."

**"Percy," Annabeth said. "I said hello to the poodle. You say hello to the poodle."**

**The poodle growled.**

**I said hello to the poodle.**

**Grover explained that he'd come across Gladiola in the woods and they'd struck up a conversation. **

Aphrodite furrowed an eyebrow. "He makes it sound like Grover met Gladiola at a bar and hit on him."

Everybody thought about that and agreed with Aphrodite because it _did_ sound suspeciously like that.

**The poodle had run away from a rich local family, who'd posted a $200 reward for his return. Gladiola didn't really want to go back to his family,**

Rachel frowned and agreed with the poodle. She wouldn't want to go back to her family if they dyed _her_ hair pink. Well, if what she had is what you would call _family._

**but he was willing to if it meant helping Grover.**

**"How does Gladiola know about the reward?" I asked.**

Nico perked up. "He stole Hecate's wand and cast a spell on his self using an old incantation that he learned from his great, great grandfather, the sphinx. Then he bonked Hecate on the head with the wand so that she would forget that he stole it in the first place."

Everyone stared at Nico for a while. After about eight minutes, he started to pout because no one would say anything.

Thalia didn't want to make Nico sad because over the past couple of days she had gotten close to him so she said, "Sure, why not."

When everyone looked at her she said, "If Gladiola can talk, who's to say that she can't steal Hecate's wand?"

Demeter scowled, "I'm afraid that it's too late for you Thalia. You're just as crazy and deranged as Hades and Nico."

Thalia frowned but didn't say anything. If she opened her mouth, a colorful rainbow would spew out.

Hades and Nico scowled.

Zeus frowned at the comment. He didn't say anything because he had a headache and didn't feel like yelling. He settled for glaring at Demeter half-heartedly.

Nico looked like he was about to say something but Hades beat him to it. "Listen here, you wheat eating, goody two shoes, critic!" Demeter's eyes bugged out.

"You will _not_ under any circumstances insult my son nor I-"

Thalia interrupted. "Wow, I feel so loved."

Hades glared at her before returning to Demeter. "And you will _certainly_ not compare me to a daughter of Zeus! If all of your insults revolve around us three-" He pointed to himself, Nico, and Thalia. "then you can shut your mouth and use that grain-filled head of yours before you speak _next time!_"

Everyone stared at Hades with astonishment. Thalia was surprised that he had defended her. Hades took in a deep breath and smoothed his robes. He sat back down on his throne, which he had stood up from when he was yelling, and looked at Jason to read.

**"He read the signs," Grover said. "Duh."**

**"Of course," I said. "Silly me."**

Some people snickered. Nico thought about it and then shrugged. "I guess, if we all weren't really sarcastic then we would probably die a long time ago."

No one questioned his theory.

**"So we turn in Gladiola," Annabeth explained in her best strategy voice, "we get money, and we buy tickets to Los Angeles. Simple."**

**I thought about my dream the whispering voices of the dead, the thing in the chasm, and my mother's face, shimmering as it dissolved into gold. All that might be waiting for me in the West.**

**"Not another bus," I said warily.**

Poseidon agreed whole-heartedly.

**"No," Annabeth agreed.**

**She pointed downhill, toward train tracks I hadn't been able to see last night in the dark. "There's an Amtrak station half a mile that way. According to Gladiola, the west bound train leaves at noon."**

Jason sighed. "That's it for this chapter."

* * *

><p><strong>I won't be posting for awhile. I can only post on the weekends now. I have school starting tomorrow and fanfiction cannot come first. :(<strong>

**Will try to post as much as I can on both stories. Please review. I will not be stopping this story midway like so many other writers have.**

**Erudite19**


	15. I Plunge to My Death

Hermes sighed. "I guess I'll read-"

"No, no." Zeus said. "I wouldn't want you to do that. You already stare at a cell phone screen all day long. Let me read first and then we'll all go around."

The others nodded because this all seemed like a great idea. Zeus however, was only doing it so that he could read first. He was the king of the gods for his sake. He should get to do everything first.

**"I Plunge to my Death," Zeus read.**

**We spent two days on the Amtrak train, heading west through hills, over rivers, past amber waves of grain.**

Hermes snorted. "What is this? The Pledge of Allegiance?"

Athena sighed. "It's not the Pledge of Allegiance Hermes. It's the-"

Hermes waved his hand in the air. "Details, details. They're all the same to me."

Athena ignored him and waited for Zeus to read.

**We weren't attacked once, but I didn't relax.**

**I felt that we were traveling around in a display case, being watched from above and maybe from below, that something was waiting for the right opportunity.**

The gods shrugged. They were probably watching Percy to see how he was doing on the quest.

**I tried to keep a low profile because my name and picture were splattered over the front pages of several East Coast newspapers. The _Trenton Register-News _showed a photo taken by a tourist as I got off the Greyhound bus. I had a wild look in my eyes. My sword was a metallic blur in my hands. It might've been a baseball bat or a lacrosse stick.**

Hermes rolled his eyes. Mortals and their crazy explanations. But then again he did make up most of those explanations so...

**The picture's caption read:**

**_Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson, wanted for questioning in the Long Island disappearance of his mother two weeks ago, is shown here fleeing from the bus where he accosted several elderly female passengers._**

Ares furrowed his eyebrows. "I should do that someday."

Everyone ignored him. If they pressed on, it probably wouldn't end well.

**_The bus exploded on an east New Jersey roadside shortly after Jackson fled the scene. Based on eyewitness accounts, police believe the boy may be traveling with two teenage accomplices. _**

Athena sighed. "And now, Annabeth's face might end up right next to Percy's. It's already bad enough that they're together." She whispered that last thought to herself.

No one heard except for Aphrodite, who frowned. She would have to talk to Athena later on.

**_His stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, has offered a cash reward for information leading to his capture._**

"_Capture_?" Poseidon said. He had been sulking in his seat ever since he heard the name of the chapter.

**"Don't worry," Annabeth told me. "Mortal police could never find us." But she didn't sound so sure.**

**The rest of the day I spent alternately pacing the length of the train (because I had a really hard time sitting still) or looking out the windows.**

**Once, I spotted a family of centaurs galloping across a wheat field,**

Demeter frowned. Why would they gallop across a wheat field? They could trample the crops.

**bows at the ready, as they hunted lunch.**

Artemis nodded. Centaurs were very capable when it came to hunting.

**The little boy centaur, who was the size of a second-grader on a pony, caught my eye and waved. I looked around the passenger car, but nobody else had noticed. The adult riders all had their faces buried in laptop computers or magazines.**

**Another time, toward evening, I saw something huge moving through the woods. I could've sworn it was a lion, except that lions don't live wild in America, and this thing was the size of a Hummer.**

**Its fur glinted gold in the evening light.**

Thalia gasped. "A Nemean Lion." Then she grimaced when she remembered what had happened on the quest that they had encountered the lion.

**Then it leaped through the trees and was gone.**

**Our reward money for returning Gladiola the poodle had only been enough to purchase tickets as far as Denver. We couldn't get berths in the sleeper car, so we dozed in our seats. My neck got stiff. I tried not to drool in my sleep, since Annabeth was sitting right next to me.**

Several people snickered.

**Grover kept snoring and bleating and waking me up.**

**Once, he shuffled around and his fake foot fell off. Annabeth and I had to stick it back on before any of the other passengers noticed.**

Dionysus shook his head from behind his magazine.

**"So," Annabeth asked me, once we'd gotten Grover's sneaker readjusted. "Who wants your help?"**

**"What do you mean?"**

**"When you were asleep just now, you mumbled, 'I won't help you.' Who were you dreaming about?"**

**I was reluctant to say anything. It was the second time I'd dreamed about the evil voice from the pit.**

**But it bothered me so much I finally told her.**

Connor rolled his eyes. "Sure… that's why you told her."

Annabeth didn't even bother replying to that comment. It was going to get her nowhere if she did.

**Annabeth was quiet for a long time. "That doesn't sound like Hades. He always appears on a black throne, and he never laughs."**

Hades scrutinized Annabeth. "You make me sound so cruel."

Demeter slapped him on the back of his head. "You are cruel. You took away my Persephone. My Kore… my poor Kore… stuck in the Underworld for half of the year…"

Hades elbowed Zeus in the gut when Demeter wasn't looking. "_Keep reading!"_

Zeus glared at Hades but kept reading because he didn't want to hear Demeter's rant.

**"He offered my mother in trade. Who else could do that?"**

**"I guess ... if he meant, 'Help me rise from the Underworld.' If he wants war with the Olympians. But why ask you to bring him the master bolt if he already has it?"**

Athena cocked her head. That didn't make sense at all.

**I shook my head, wishing I knew the answer. I thought about what Grover had told me, that the Furies on the bus seemed to have been looking for something.**

**_Where is it? Where?_**

**Maybe Grover sensed my emotions. He snorted in his sleep, muttered something about vegetables, and turned his head.**

**Annabeth readjusted his cap so it covered his horns. "Percy, you can't barter with Hades. You know that, right? He's deceitful, heartless, and greedy.**

Hades smirked as if this was a good thing.

**I don't care if his Kindly Ones weren't as aggressive this time—"**

**"This time?" I asked. "You mean you've run into them before?"**

**Her hand crept up to her necklace. She fingered a glazed white bead painted with the image of a pine tree,**

Thalia winced at the reminder.

**one of her clay end-of-summer tokens. "Let's just say I've got no love for the Lord of the Dead. You can't be tempted to make a deal for your mom."**

**"What would you do if it was your dad?"**

**"That's easy," she said. "I'd leave him to rot."**

Everyone looked at Annabeth. Some had understanding looks, confused looks, and stern looks. But no one had a scared look. Unless you count little Nico from down Blueberry lane.

Nico pouted and looked at Annabeth. "Would you leave _me_ to rot?" He asked innocently.

Annabeth looked at Nico and sighed. "Wouldn't you like to live with your father for a while Nico?"

"Well, yes. But that doesn't mean I'd like you to leave me to rot." Nico said. When Annabeth didn't answer Nico started to tear up. Nico got up and-to everyone's surprise-sat on Thalia's lap. He held onto her and whimpered into her chest, "Hold me?"

He was sniffling so much and shaking so much that Thalia thought it was some type of prank. But when she looked down at him, she could tell that he was actually crushed. Maybe he was thinking about his sister who was 'rotting' in Hades.

Thalia sighed and patted his head. "It's okay Nico. No one's going to leave you rotting with your father." She cast an irritating look at Annabeth, who was trying very hard to stifle her giggle.

The whole room was about to burst into laughter. The only one who looked irritated by this was Artemis. She didn't like a boy so close to her hunter.

Everyone was about to lose control of their laughter when Nico started to cry for real. Horrible, heart-broken sobs echoed through the room. No one needed to laugh now. Thalia sighed and held onto Nico. She rubbed his back and held him close.

Everyone was surprised at Nico. Some were surprised that Thalia didn't push Nico off. When his sobs turned into sniffling and his body wasn't shaking that much, Thalia motioned for Zeus to keep reading.

**"You're not serious?"**

**Annabeth's gray eyes fixed on me. She wore the same expression she'd worn in the woods at camp, the moment she drew her sword against the hellhound. "My dad's resented me since the day I was born, Percy," she said. "He never wanted a baby. When he got me, he asked Athena to take me back and raise me on Olympus because he was too busy with his work. She wasn't happy about that. She told him heroes had to be raised by their mortal parent."**

Annabeth looked down and couldn't meet her mom's eyes. Some of the demigods could relate to what she was saying. Piper remembered when Annabeth had told her she had run away when she was seven. Maybe now Piper would find out the entire story.

**"But how ... I mean, I guess you weren't born in a hospital..."**

Connor looked up. "Where are we born? I mean... the one's who have a goddess for a mother?"

The deities glanced at each other. "Ares is best to teach this." Athena said.

The demigods looked at Athena worriedly to see that she had paled considerably. In fact, all of the gods had paled considerably, except for Ares who looked especially excited.

"If we try to teach this to you, we won't be able to hold in our lunch." Apollo said. He looked ready to throw up on the spot. The rest of the gods flashed out in a hurry.

"Well..." Ares snickered. "When two people get together... and one of them is a god or goddess of Olympus..."

Three hours and forty-five minutes, fourteen PowerPoint presentations, four videos, and three demonstrations later, the demigods were officially mentally scarred. More than a teacher could ever do to them in high school biology.

Travis clutched his head. "Too many mental pictures..."

"I think I'm going to throw up." Rachel said.

"Maybe a drink from the Lethe wouldn't be so bad now." Thalia moaned. The others agreed.

Ares shook his head. "I'll just re-teach it to you if you try to erase it." The demigods moaned.

"I don't need to know everything..." Annabeth groaned.

"I agree." Clarisse said.

The gods flashed back. Some of them were completely pale. Hades looked more pale than usual.

Zeus wiped some sweat off of his forehead. He looked feverish. "I'll continue reading."

**"I appeared on my father's doorstep, in a golden cradle, carried down from Olympus by Zephyr the West Wind. You'd think my dad would remember that as a miracle, right? Like, maybe he'd take some digital photos or something. But he always talked about my arrival as if it were the most inconvenient thing that had ever happened to him. When I was five he got married and totally forgot about Athena. **

Athena frowned.

**He got a 'regular' mortal wife, and had two 'regular' mortal kids, and tried to pretend I didn't exist."**

Artemis set her jaw. It was just like a mortal 'man' to do something like that.

**I stared out the train window. The lights of a sleeping town were drifting by. I wanted to make Annabeth feel better, **

Aphrodite grinned wildly.

**but I didn't know how.**

**"My mom married a really awful guy," I told her. "Grover said she did it to protect me, to hide me in the scent of a human family. Maybe that's what your dad was thinking."**

**Annabeth kept worrying at her necklace. She was pinching the gold college ring that hung with the beads. It occurred to me that the ring must be her father's. I wondered why she wore it if she hated him so much.**

**"He doesn't care about me," she said. "His wife—my stepmom—treated me like a freak. She wouldn't let me play with her children. My dad went along with her. Whenever something dangerous happened—you know, something with monsters—they would both look at me resentfully, like, 'How dare you put our family at risk.' Finally, I took the hint. I wasn't wanted. I ran away."**

Everyone grimaced.

**"How old were you?"**

**"Same age as when I started camp. Seven."**

Piper glanced at Annabeth. Suddenly the pieces started to fit together.

**"But ... you couldn't have gotten all the way to Half-Blood Hill by yourself."**

**"Not alone, no. Athena watched over me, guided me toward help. I made a couple of unexpected friends who took care of me, for a short time, anyway."**

Thalia smiled sadly.

**I wanted to ask what happened, but Annabeth seemed lost in sad memories. **

Like she did now.

**So I listened to the sound of Grover snoring and gazed out the train windows as the dark fields of Ohio raced by.**

**Toward the end of our second day on the train, June 13, eight days before the summer solstice, we passed through some golden hills and over the Mississippi River into St. Louis. Annabeth craned her neck to see the Gateway Arch, which looked to me like a huge shopping bag handle stuck on the city.**

**"I want to do that," she sighed.**

**"What?" I asked.**

**"Build something like that. You ever see the Parthenon, Percy?"**

**"Only in pictures."**

**"Someday, I'm going to see it in person. I'm going to build the greatest monument to the gods, ever. Something that'll last a thousand years."**

The demigods glanced at each other.

"How ironic is that?" Thalia said. Nico sniffed in agreement.

Clarisse scoffed. "It's like a lot of things that are going to happen are being foreshadowed in the first book."

Piper nodded in agreement. Then she said, "We'll see how long it'll last now."

The tension grew in the room. Rachel sighed and said low enough for the demigods to hear. "It might last. I mean, were in deep trouble but that doesn't mean that were going to lose everything."

Jason nodded. "Let's just hope we can all get along."

"Umm…" Dionysus said. "What are you talking about?" The rest of the gods were looking at the group on the floor.

"Nothing important right now." Leo said. He gestured to Zeus to keep reading.

**I laughed. "You? An architect?"**

Athena raised an eyebrow.

**I don't know why, but I found it funny. Just the idea of Annabeth trying to sit quietly and draw all day.**

"I never thought of it like that." Katie mused.

**Her cheeks flushed. "Yes, an architect. Athena expects her children to create things, not just tear them down, like a certain god of earthquakes I could mention."**

Poseidon pouted.

**I watched the churning brown water of the Mississippi below.**

**"Sorry," Annabeth said. "That was mean."**

**"Can't we work together a little?" I pleaded. "I mean, didn't Athena and Poseidon ever cooperate?"**

"Ughh…" Poseidon moaned. "Here comes the stupid back story." He dramatically face-palmed. He pulled a blanket out of thin air and covered his entire body with it, including his head. "Don't look at me!" He cried out dramatically. "I'm ashamed!"

Some of the gods chuckled at Poseidon's behavior while others-like Athena- rolled their eyes.

Athena grimaced. She also didn't want to hear the 'stupid back story' as Poseidon put it.

**Annabeth had to think about it. "I guess ... the chariot," she said tentatively. "My mom invented it, but Poseidon created horses out of the crests of waves. So they had to work together to make it complete."**

"The only time you two ever worked together." Aphrodite sighed. "I mean, just look at your children-they can work together on more occasions than you do."

Poseidon moaned from underneath his blanket. While Athena leaned back in her seat and waited for Aphrodite to finish her rant.

Piper looked thoughtful for a moment. "It makes you wonder how you and Percy ever got together in the first place."

Annabeth flushed at the reminder of several times when she and Percy ever got together. Piper would find out soon enough.

"How does that work?" Leo said. "I mean, shouldn't you two hate each other?"

Clarisse sighed. "I've been there for part of their relationship, and even I don't have an answer."

**"Then we can cooperate, too. Right?"**

**We rode into the city, Annabeth watching as the Arch disappeared behind a hotel.**

**"I suppose," she said at last.**

"Oh." Leo said.

**We pulled into the Amtrak station downtown. The intercom told us we'd have a three-hour layover before departing for Denver.**

**Grover stretched. Before he was even fully awake, he said, "Food."**

Demeter grinned. _Yes. Food. Strawberries, and bananas, and apples, and grapes, and…_

**"Come on, goat boy," Annabeth said. "Sightseeing."**

**"Sightseeing?"**

**"The Gateway Arch," she said. "This may be my only chance to ride to the top. Are you coming or not?"**

**Grover and I exchanged looks.**

**I wanted to say no, but I figured that if Annabeth was going, we couldn't very well let her go alone.**

Connor and Travis smirked knowingly.

**Grover shrugged. "As long as there's a snack bar without monsters."**

**The Arch was about a mile from the train station. Late in the day the lines to get in weren't that long. We threaded our way through the underground museum, looking at covered wagons and other junk from the 1800s. It wasn't all that thrilling, but Annabeth kept telling us interesting facts about how the Arch was built, and Grover kept passing me jelly beans, so I was okay.**

**I kept looking around, though, at the other people in line. "You smell anything?" I murmured to Grover.**

**He took his nose out of the jelly-bean bag long enough to sniff. "Underground," he said distastefully. "Under ground air always smells like monsters. Probably doesn't mean anything."**

Poseidon moaned again. "There's a monster. Even though it always smells like monsters underground, there has to be a monster."

Everyone ignored him. Mostly because they couldn't understand him from under his blanket.

**But something felt wrong to me. I had a feeling we shouldn't be here.**

**"Guys," I said. "You know the gods' symbols of power?"**

**Annabeth had been in the middle of reading about the construction equipment used to build the Arch, but she looked over. "Yeah?"**

**"Well, Hade—"**

**Grover cleared his throat. "We're in a public place... You mean, our friend downstairs?"**

Connor chuckled uncontrollably and everyone looked at him weird.

"Dude?" Travis asked. "What's with you?"

Connor straightened up and said, "Nothing, nothing. Go ahead and keep reading the book."

**"Um, right," I said. "Our friend **_**way **_**downstairs. **

Connor started chuckling even more. Travis looked at him funny and then his face dawned in realization.

He slapped Connor in the head and said, "Your mind is so polluted."

As soon as he said this everyone else caught on. The demigods started moaning and groaning because they remembered their recent conversation with Ares.

**Doesn't he have a hat like Annabeth's?"**

Hades looked truly offended. "It's _not_ a hat. It's an all powerful symbol of power. A weapon. Powerful enough to rip out your inner and most frightening fears and corrupt heart and brain. Thus, plunging you into a pit of utterly, cold despair."

After Hades finished his rant, the sun seemed to get a little less bright and the moon came out a little. The earthquakes and tsunamis that were occurring around the world suddenly stopped.

Texas returned to its water drought because no more rain would come. The wisest Buddhist monk suddenly had a yearning to go to the club.

Machine shops all around the world had mechanical problems. The war in Afghanistan momentarily ceased. Bars and clubs all around the world suddenly ran out of alcohol and wine.

The postage service got a malfunction. Crops began to wilt. The bride and groom at a wedding suddenly lost interest in each other.

Everyone was quiet for a second and then Nico of all people said, "My dad's totally awesome like that. So don't hate."

Everyone decided that it would be best to ignore the two and keep reading.

**"You mean the Helm of Darkness," Annabeth said. "Yeah, that's his symbol of power. I saw it next to his seat during the winter solstice council meeting."**

**"He was there?" I asked.**

**She nodded. "It's the only time he's allowed to visit Olympus—the darkest day of the year. But his helm is a lot more powerful than my invisibility hat, if what I've heard is true..."**

**"It allows him to become darkness," Grover confirmed. "He can melt into shadow or pass through walls. He can't be touched, or seen, or heard. And he can radiate fear so intense it can drive you insane or stop your heart. Why do you think all rational creatures fear the dark?"**

Hades smirked.

**"But then ... how do we know he's not here right now, watching us?" I asked.**

The smirk fell off his face. "I'm not a stalker."

Hermes smiled. "You stalked Persephone."

Hades' face flushed. "That was _different!_"

"No, it wasn't." Demeter replied. She was so mad she looked like she was going to burst. Instead she smiled and a flower grew on the Lord of the Dead's head.

Hades frowned and pulled it off only to have it re-grow on his head. Everyone laughed as he kept taking off the flower and it kept growing back on his head. Finally, he gave up and told Zeus to keep reading.

**Annabeth and Grover exchanged looks.**

**"We don't," Grover said.**

**"Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better," I said. "Got any blue jelly beans left?"**

**I'd almost mastered my jumpy nerves when I saw the tiny little elevator car we were going to ride to the top of the Arch, and I knew I was in trouble. I hate confined places. They make me nuts.**

**We got shoehorned into the car with this big fat lady and her dog, a Chihuahua with a rhinestone collar. I figured maybe the dog was a seeing-eye Chihuahua, **

Hermes chuckled at this explanation. Nico nodded furiously because he agreed with Percy's explanation.

**because none of the guards said a word about it.**

**We started going up, inside the Arch. I'd never been in an elevator that went in a curve, and my stomach wasn't too happy about it.**

**"No parents?" the fat lady asked us.**

**She had beady eyes; pointy, coffee-stained teeth; a floppy denim hat, and a denim dress that bulged so much, she looked like a blue-jean blimp.**

Apollo snickered at this while Zeus looked thoughtful. "Where do I know her from…?"

Poseidon tensed under his blanket. _Not another monster._

**"They're below," Annabeth told her. "Scared of heights."**

Thalia shivered slightly at the mention of heights.

"See." Travis told Annabeth. "I told you that you can lie better than him."

Annabeth just rolled her eyes at him.

**"Oh, the poor darlings."**

**The Chihuahua growled. The woman said, "Now, now, Sonny. Behave." The dog had beady eyes like its owner, intelligent and vicious.**

**I said, "Sonny. Is that his name?"**

**"No," the lady told me.**

**She smiled, as if that cleared everything up.**

Chris frowned. This had to be a monster. When he was on Kronos' side, monsters did that all of the time.

**At the top of the Arch, the observation deck reminded me of a tin can with carpeting. Rows of tiny windows looked out over the city on one side and the river on the other. The view was okay, but if there's anything I like less than a confined space, it's a confined space six hundred feet in the air. I was ready to go pretty quick.**

Zeus smirked.

**Annabeth kept talking about structural supports, and how she would've made the windows bigger, and designed a see-through floor.**

Athena thought about this for a little and nodded. It would be better if the arch was like that.

**She probably could've stayed up there for hours, **

The demigods that knew Annabeth personally snorted.

**but luckily for me the park ranger announced that the observation deck would be closing in a few minutes.**

**I steered Grover and Annabeth toward the exit, loaded them into the elevator, and I was about to get in myself when I realized there were already two other tourists inside. No room for me.**

**The park ranger said, "Next car, sir."**

**"We'll get out," Annabeth said. "We'll wait with you."**

**But that was going to mess everybody up and take even more time, so I said, "Naw, it's okay. I'll see you guys at the bottom."**

**Grover and Annabeth both looked nervous, but they let the elevator door slide shut. Their car disappeared down the ramp.**

"Our first mistake." Annabeth mumbled, but everyone heard her.

**Now the only people left on the observation deck were me, a little boy with his parents, the park ranger, and the fat lady with her Chihuahua.**

**I smiled uneasily at the fat lady. She smiled back, her forked tongue flickering between her teeth.**

Thalia looked alert. _A forked tongue?_

**Wait a minute.**

**Forked tongue?**

**Before I could decide if I'd really seen that, her Chihuahua jumped down and started yapping at me.**

**"Now, now, Sonny," the lady said. "Does this look like a good time? We have all these nice people here."**

**"Doggie!" said the little boy. "Look, a doggie!"**

**His parents pulled him back.**

**The Chihuahua bared his teeth at me, foam dripping from his black lips.**

**"Well, son," the fat lady sighed. "If you insist."**

**Ice started forming in my stomach. "Urn, did you just call that Chihuahua your son?"**

_**"Chimera, **_**dear," **

Everyone except for Annabeth gasped.

**the fat lady corrected. "Not a Chihuahua. It's an easy mistake to make."**

"_Easy_?" Leo asked incredulously.

Apollo nodded. "It's actually a very easy mistake to make. Trust me. Been there, done that. It was _not_ pretty."

Nobody questioned him.

**She rolled up her denim sleeves, revealing that the skin of her arms was scaly and green. When she smiled, I saw that her teeth were fangs. The pupils of her eyes were sideways slits, like a reptile's.**

"Echidna." Poseidon breathed.

Nico looked up. "Like the anteater?"

Athena shook her head and said gravely. "The mother of all monsters."

"Umm…" Hermes said. "You really shouldn't mention anteaters around her. It's not good."

**The Chihuahua barked louder, and with each bark, it grew. First to the size of a Doberman, then to a lion. The bark became a roar.**

**The little boy screamed. His parents pulled him back toward the exit, straight into the park ranger, who stood, paralyzed, gaping at the monster.**

**The Chimera was now so tall it's back rubbed against the roof. It had the head of a lion with a blood-caked mane, the body and hooves of a giant goat, and a serpent for a tail, a ten-foot-long diamondback growing right out of its shaggy behind. The rhinestone dog collar still hung around its neck, and the plate-sized dog tag was now easy to read: CHIMERA—RABID, FIRE-BREATHING, POISONOUS—IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL TARTARUS—EXT. 954.**

"Do you think that would work?" Connor asked Travis.

"We'll try as soon as finish here." Travis said.

"And we'll be away from you." Rachel said.

Hermes perked up. "So… you're like, going to prank call Tartarus?"

Nico grinned. "But then we'll wake up the Minotaur from his sleep."

Demeter sighed exasperatedly.

**I realized I hadn't even uncapped my sword. My hands were numb. I was ten feet away from the Chimera's bloody maw, and I knew that as soon as I moved, the creature would lunge.**

**The snake lady made a hissing noise that might've been laughter. "Be honored, Percy Jackson. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood. For I am the Mother of Monsters, the terrible Echidna!"**

Leo smirked. "The terrible anteater!"

Some people chuckled at his comment while others-Poseidon- looked downright serious and angry. Of course, Leo couldn't see because Poseidon was under his blanket.

**I stared at her. All I could think to say was: "Isn't that a kind of anteater?"**

Nico smiled. "I was right."

**She howled, her reptilian face turning brown and green with rage. "I hate it when people say that! I hate Australia! Naming that ridiculous animal after me. For that, Percy Jackson, my son shall destroy you!"**

"And that," Hermes said. "Is why you shouldn't mention anteaters around her."

**The Chimera charged, its lion teeth gnashing. I managed to leap aside and dodge the bite.**

The room suddenly got darker.

**I ended up next to the family and the park ranger, who were all screaming now, trying to pry open the emergency exit doors.**

**I couldn't let them get hurt. I uncapped my sword, ran to the other side of the deck, and yelled, "Hey, Chihuahua!" The Chimera turned faster than I would've thought possible.**

**Before I could swing my sword, it opened its mouth, emitting a stench like the world's largest barbecue pit, and shot a column of flame straight at me.**

Poseidon's head peeked up from the blanket. He looked frantic and worried.

**I dove through the explosion. The carpet burst into flames; the heat was so intense, it nearly seared off my eye brows.**

**Where I had been standing a moment before was a ragged hole in the side of the Arch, with melted metal steaming around the edges.**

**Great, I thought. We just blow torched a national monument.**

"Like always." Annabeth murmured.

Thalia sighed. "Yup."

Everyone else raised an eyebrow at this.

Piper smiled. "Just like Jason."

Jason looked slightly offended at this. Piper didn't mind. Even slightly offended, he looked good to her.

**Riptide was now a shining bronze blade in my hands, and as the Chimera turned, I slashed at its neck.**

Athena face-palmed.

**That was my fatal mistake. The blade sparked harmlessly off the dog collar. I tried to regain my balance, but I was so worried about defending myself against the fiery lion's mouth, I completely forgot about the serpent tail until it whipped around and sank its fangs into my calf.**

Poseidon lost all of his cool.

**My whole leg was on fire. I tried to jab Riptide into the Chimera's mouth, but the serpent tail wrapped around my ankles and pulled me off balance, and my blade flew out of my hand, spinning out of the hole in the Arch and down toward the Mississippi River.**

Several people gasped in the room. Annabeth hadn't known that it was this serious. When Percy had told them what had happened, he had never mentioned all of this.

**I managed to get to my feet, but I knew I had lost.**

**I was weaponless. I could feel deadly poison racing up to my chest. I remembered Chiron saying that Anaklusmos would always return to me, but there was no pen in my pocket.**

**Maybe it had fallen too far away. Maybe it only returned when it was in pen form. I didn't know, and I wasn't going to live long enough to figure it out.**

Jason grimaced. This was not a good scenario. Percy should just jump and save himself.

**I backed into the hole in the wall. The Chimera advanced, growling, smoke curling from its lips. The snake lady, Echidna, cackled. "They don't make heroes like they used to, eh, son?"**

"No." Artemis said. "Sometimes, it's a good thing though."

The other gods agreed.

**The monster growled. It seemed in no hurry to finish me off now that I was beaten.**

Clarisse frowned. _Why did they always do that?_

**I glanced at the park ranger and the family. The little boy was hiding behind his father's legs. I had to protect these people. I couldn't just ... die.**

Athena sighed. Loyal to death. Maybe it wasn't bad that he was with Annabeth. At least this means that Percy would never leave Annabeth. That was good… for Annabeth. For her… she would like it if Annabeth had found someone that didn't have Poseidon's blood.

**I tried to think, but my whole body was on fire. My head felt dizzy. I had no sword. I was facing a massive, fire-breathing monster and its mother. And I was scared.**

**There was no place else to go, so I stepped to the edge of the hole. Far, far below, the river glittered.**

Poseidon grinned wildly. _That's it Percy. Dive into the water._

**If I died, would the monsters go away? Would they leave the humans alone?**

Hermes shrugged. "Maybe."

**"If you are the son of Poseidon," Echidna hissed, "you would not fear water. Jump, Percy Jackson. Show me that water will not harm you. Jump and retrieve your sword. Prove your bloodline."**

**Yeah, right, I thought. I'd read somewhere that jumping into water from a couple of stories up was like jumping onto solid asphalt. From here, I'd splatter on impact.**

Poseidon face-palmed.

**The Chimera's mouth glowed red, heating up for another blast.**

**"You have no faith," Echidna told me. "You do not trust the gods. I cannot blame you, little coward. Better you die now. The gods are faithless. The poison is in your heart."**

The deities frowned.

**She was right: I was dying. I could feel my breath slowing down. Nobody could save me, not even the gods.**

Everyone was alert and focused into the book now.

**I backed up and looked down at the water. I remembered the warm glow of my father's smile when I was a baby. He must have seen me. He must have visited me when I was in my cradle.**

Poseidon nodded furiously.

**I remembered the swirling green trident that had appeared above my head the night of capture the flag, when Poseidon had claimed me as his son.**

**But this wasn't the sea. This was the Mississippi, dead center of the USA. There was no Sea god here.**

"I can go there right now." Poseidon said. You can tell he was really worried about Percy. He made an attempt to stand up but Hades held him down so he gave up.

**"Die, faithless one," Echidna rasped, and the Chimera sent a column of flame toward my face.**

**"Father, help me," I prayed.**

"I will," Poseidon said frantically. "Just _jump_."

**I turned and jumped. My clothes on fire, poison coursing through my veins, I plummeted toward the river.**

Demeter frowned. "You're all dramatic."

* * *

><p><strong>Finally got to update. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review.<strong>

**Erudite19**


	16. I Become A Known Fugitive

"You're all _very_ dramatic." Demeter said.

Hermes shrugged. "It comes from a long line of Heroes who think they're better than others."

The demigods on the floor frowned.

"I guess I'll read." Poseidon said. He took the book from Zeus, who seemed very hesitant about letting the book go.

**"I Become a Know Fugitive," **Poseidon read, then he frowned. "Oh great."

**I'd love to tell you I had some deep revelation on my way down, that I came to terms with my own mortality, laughed in the face of death, etcetera.**

Jason looked at the book incredulously. "That doesn't happen to me on the way down."

Leo rolled his eyes. "That's because you have a certain reason why."

Thalia looked at Jason skeptically. She had never tried to fly before. She was too afraid to try anyways.

Everyone else looked at Leo and Jason confused except for Piper and Zeus.

**The truth? **

"Will set you free." Apollo said. He was looking off into the distance and he had a pilot's outfit on so he looked really dramatic.

Hermes rolled his eyes. "Or trap you in prison."

The two glared at each other before they started arguing.

Zeus was getting tired of the argument so he struck both of them with lightning and told Poseidon to read.

**My only thought was: Aaaagggghhhhh!**

Athena rolled her eyes. "What else would he think in a situation like that?"

Nico smirked, probably because he had come up with some weird explanation.

"You know what." Athena said, glancing at Nico's face. "Why don't you read Poseidon?"

**The river raced toward me at the speed of a truck. Wind ripped the breath from my lungs. Steeples and skyscrapers and bridges tumbled in and out of my vision.**

Piper paled because she remembered her fall into the Grand Canyon and several other falls throughout that horrible quest that she had to take.

Annabeth shivered. _Zeus could have struck Percy with lightning at any time._

**And then: Flaaa-boooom!**

Poseidon sighed in relief.

**A whiteout of bubbles. I sank through the murk, sure that I was about to end up embedded in a hundred feet of mud and lost forever.**

Nico shook his head. Such a pessimist.

**But my impact with the water hadn't hurt.**

**I was falling slowly now, bubbles trickling up through my fingers. I settled on the river bottom soundlessly. A catfish the size of my stepfather**

Poseidon frowned. That was a giant catfish. Aphrodite on the other hand, smirked. _Maybe I can turn Gabe into a catfish._

**lurched away into the gloom. Clouds of silt and disgusting garbage beer bottles, old shoes, plastic bags swirled up all around me.**

Several nature activists in the room frowned. Poseidon however, grimaced.

**At that point, I realized a few things: first, I had not been flattened into a pancake. **

"A very good thing." Poseidon said. Annabeth agreed. Hades frowned. He wouldn't get to torture Percy in the Underworld yet.

**I had not been barbecued. I couldn't even feel the Chimera poison boiling in my veins anymore. **

Zeus frowned at this statement. Poseidon was smiling broadly now.

**I was alive, which was good.**

**Second realization: I wasn't wet. **

Many people paid attention now.

**I mean, I could feel the coolness of the water. I could see where the fire on my clothes had been quenched. But when I touched my own shirt, it felt perfectly dry.**

"Cool."

"Wait." Chris said. "Does that mean that when he takes a regular bath he doesn't really get wet?"

Many people looked disgusted at this revelation. Poseidon looked offended. "It doesn't work that way. Only in bodies of water."

"Oh."

**I looked at the garbage floating by and snatched an old cigarette lighter.**

Hermes raised an eyebrow. "There's no way that it's going to work."

Connor and Travis agreed. Percy's powers had to be limited.

**I flicked the lighter. It sparked. A tiny flame appeared, right there at the bottom of the Mississippi.**

"No way." Nico said. Everyone else agreed.

Leo looked impressed. If Percy held onto him when he was under water, would his fire powers worked? He planned to ask Hephaestus later.

**No way, I thought.**

The same thing was running through several people's mind, except in different ways.

In Jason's mind he was thinking, 'nullo modo', which was Latin for 'no way'.

In Athena's mind she was thinking, 'Stupid sea brat.'

In Piper's mind she was thinking, 'That's actually pretty cool.'

In Annabeth's mind she was thinking, 'I wish he could do that for me under water.'

**I grabbed a soggy hamburger wrapper **

All of the girls wrinkled their noses.

**out of the current and immediately the paper turned dry.**

**I lit it with no problem. As soon as I let it go, the flames sputtered out. The wrapper turned back into a slimy rag. Weird.**

"Yes." Zeus said. "But then again, Poseidon is weird also, so..."

Poseidon stared at him momentarily and then resumed reading.

**But the strangest thought occurred to me only last: I was breathing. I was underwater, and I was breathing normally.**

Katie cocked her head. "You'd think that that would be the first thing he realizes."

Rachel shrugged. "Maybe he was just too excited to realize it."

**I stood up, thigh-deep in mud. **

Aphrodite almost gagged.

**My legs felt shaky. My hands trembled. I should've been dead. **

Hades nodded. He completely agreed with Percy. Stupid water powers...

**The fact that I wasn't seemed like ... well, a miracle. I imagined a woman's voice, a voice that sounded a bit like my mother:Percy, what do you say?**

Several people chuckled at this.

**"Um ... thanks." Underwater, I sounded like I did on recordings, like a much older kid. "Thank you ... Father."**

Poseidon smiled genuinely.

**No response. Just the dark drift of garbage downriver, **

The smile on Poseidon's face disappeared.

**the enormous catfish gliding by, **

Aphrodite smirked.

**the flash of sunset on the water's surface far above, turning everything the color of butterscotch.**

Apollo smiled brilliantly.

**Why had Poseidon saved me?**

Before Poseidon could start his speech about loyalty and trust and how Percy was his favorite son, Zeus and Hades glared at him, daring him to say anything like that.

**The more I thought about it, the more ashamed I felt. So I'd gotten lucky a few times before. Against a thing like the Chimera, I had never stood a chance.**

"No." Zeus frowned. Why did Echidna attack near the water? It would have been better if she had lead them into the dessert and attacked Percy there. That way the son of Poseidon wouldn't have had any way to survive.

**Those poor people in the Arch were probably toast. I couldn't protect them. I was no hero. Maybe I should just stay down here with the catfish, **

_Gabe will soon be joining the catfish._ Aphrodite thought.

**join the bottom feeders.**

Dionysus sighed from behind his laptop screen. "That would save us a lot of paper work."

Poseidon rolled his eyes and blasted Dionysus with water. His laptop short-circuited and he gave it to Hephaestus to fix.

**Fump-fump-fump. A riverboat's paddlewheel churned above me, swirling the silt around.**

**There, not five feet in front of me, was my sword, its gleaming bronze hilt sticking up in the mud.**

Ares nodded. At least his weapon wasn't lost. Then there would be no hope what so ever.

**I heard that woman's voice again: Percy, take the sword. Your father believes in you.**

Travis raised an eyebrow. "Is Percy hallucinating or something?"

Athena smirked. "If he's anything like his father then he might be."

Poseidon frowned. "Oh sure. The one time I hallucinate you pin it on me for the rest of my immortal life."

Athena narrowed her eyes. "I found you making out with Medusa at my temple. When you looked at me, you thought I was a hallucination because you were drunk and you kept on making out with her."

Some people snickered at Poseidon's face.

"Will you let that go! You don't even know how I felt when you turned Medusa into that horrible chicken-footed, monster." Poseidon face-palmed. "The myths are _never_ told from the god's point of view. Always the human's. _Everybody_ thought that the big and powerful god, Poseidon just said 'Oh, well. Next person.' That is _not_ true."

Poseidon huffed and stared at Athena, who had a dumbfounded look on her face just like everyone else. Then he kept on reading.

**This time, I knew the voice wasn't in my head. I wasn't imagining it. Her words seemed to come from everywhere, rippling through the water like dolphin sonar.**

**"Where are you?" I called aloud.**

**Then, through the gloom, I saw her a woman the color of the water, a ghost in the current, floating just above the sword. She had long billowing hair, and her eyes, barely visible, were green like mine.**

**A lump formed in my throat. I said, "Mom?"**

Everyone grimaced. That was so cruel.

**No, child, only a messenger, though your mother's fate is not as hopeless as you believe. Go to the beach in Santa Monica.**

Everyone raised an eyebrowa at this.

**"What?"**

**It is your father's will. Before you descend into the Underworld, you must go to Santa Monica. Please, Percy, I cannot stay long. The river here is too foul for my presence.**

Poseidon frowned. "It always is."

**"But ..." I was sure this woman was my mother, or a vision of her, anyway. "Who how did you-"**

**There was so much I wanted to ask, the words jammed up in my throat.**

**I cannot stay, brave one,the woman said. She reached out, and I felt the current brush my face like a caress.**

**You must go to Santa Monica! And, Percy, do not trust the gifts...**

Everyone except for Annabeth had a confused look on their faces. _What gifts?_

**Her voice faded.**

**"Gifts?" I asked. "What gifts? Wait!"**

**She made one more attempt to speak, but the sound was gone. Her image melted away. If it was my mother, I had lost her again.**

**I felt like drowning myself. The only problem: I was immune to drowning.**

"That's so sad." Ares said. Everyone turned to him with that same confused look on their faces. "We won't get to see Percy drown in the future."

Aphrodite rolled her eyes and smacked him in the forehead with her lipgloss tube. She went back to Hephaestus's side and snuggled up to him. Ares pouted and rubbed his forehead.

**Your father believes in you, she had said.**

**She'd also called me brave ... unless she was talking to the catfish.**

Aphrodite snorted. She hoped that the lady wasn't talking to the catfish.

**I waded toward Riptide and grabbed it by the hilt. The Chimera might still be up there with its snaky, fat mother, **

The gods chuckled. That was one way to describe Echidna.

**waiting to finish me off. At the very least, the mortal police would be arriving, trying to figure out who had blown a hole in the Arch. **

Athena frowned. That beautiful Arch. Ruined by the son of the Earthshaker. She wondered how many other monuments would get blown up because of Percy.

**If they found me, they'd have some questions.**

**I capped my sword, stuck the ballpoint pen in my pocket. "Thank you, Father," I said again to the dark water.**

Poseidon grinned wildly.

**Then I kicked up through the muck and swam for the surface.**

**I came ashore next to a floating McDonald's.**

Demeter wrinkled her nose. Fat, greasy, food. Not near excellent at all.

**A block away, every emergency vehicle in St. Louis was surrounding the Arch. **

Athena mentally face-palmed. If Percy was found for questioning then wouldn't Annabeth and Grover come along. There goes any chances of Annabeth going to another middle school.

**Police helicopters circled overhead. The crowd of onlookers reminded me of Times Square on New Year's Eve.**

Rachel imagined how that would look but she couldn't. Times Square on New Year's Eve was too crowded to imagine it anywhere else.

**A little girl said, "Mama! That boy walked out of the river."**

"Can she see through the mist?" Rachel asked.

Athena shrugged. "She might be able to but only in her childhood. When she grows up, and her mind makes up rational thoughts for the everyday occurences that she sees the mist will probably work more effectively on her. Little kids just have too much of an imagination for the mist to work around. Where do you think the 'monsters' that they're scared of at night come from?"

"Oh."

**"That's nice, dear," her mother said, craning her neck to watch the ambulances.**

"See."

**"But he's dry!"**

**"That's nice, dear."**

Hermes sighed. "Ah. Mortals and their ignorance."

**A news lady was talking for the camera: "Probably not a terrorist attack, we're told, but it's still very early in the investigation. The damage, as you can see, is very serious. We're trying to get to some of the survivors, to question them about eyewitness reports of someone falling from the Arch."**

"If they saw Percy falling from the Arch then didn't they see where he landed?" Nico asked.

Nobody had an answer to that.

**Survivors. I felt a surge of relief. Maybe the park ranger and that family made it out safely. I hoped Annabeth and Grover were okay.**

Aphrodite smiled brilliantly. Athena frowned. Her daughter had better be okay or else whichever time period he was from or not, Percy would get it.

**I tried to push through the crowd to see what was going on inside the police line.**

**"... an adolescent boy," another reporter was saying. "Channel Five has learned that surveillance cameras show an adolescent boy going wild on the observation deck, somehow setting off this freak explosion. Hard to believe, John, but that's what we're hearing. Again, no confirmed fatalities-"**

**I backed away, trying to keep my head down. I had to go a long way around the police perimeter. Uniformed officers and news reporters were everywhere.**

**I'd almost lost hope of ever finding Annabeth and Grover when a familiar voice bleated, "Perrr-cy!"**

Thalia smiled. She missed Grover's annoying bleats. She could feel Nico smile because he was still sitting on her.

**I turned and got tackled by Grover's bear hug or goat hug. **

"I think it's a bear hug because Grover smashed into the statue of a bear when they went to visit Medusa's place."

Nobody tried to reason with Apollo's train of thought.

**He said, "We thought you'd gone to Hades the hard way!"**

Hades scoffed. "The _hard_ way! But that's the _easy_ way. What's he talking about?"

Poseidon glared at Hades. "That _is_ the hard way. It's easier to go there willingly than to suddenly die." Hades huffed in response. He didn't agree with Poseidon one bit.

The rest of the demigods except Nico, agreed with Poseidon whole-heartedly. Although, none of the ways discussed were actually easy.

**Annabeth stood behind him, trying to look angry, but even she seemed relieved to see me.**

Several people smirked at Annabeth. Mostly Aphrodite.

**"We can't leave you alone for five minutes! What happened?"**

**"I sort of fell."**

_"Pffft."_ Annabeth said.

**"Percy! Six hundred and thirty feet?"**

Thalia's eyes grew wide. _That_ was really high.

**Behind us, a cop shouted, "Gangway!" The crowd parted, and a couple of paramedics hustled out, rolling a woman on a stretcher. I recognized her immediately as the mother of the little boy who'd been on the observation deck. She was saying, "And then this huge dog, this huge fire-breathing Chihuahua-"**

Despite the situation, several people laughed at that statement.

Leo raised an eyebrow. "They saw a fire-breathing Chihuahua through the mist?"

Hermes stopped to consider it. "That is really weird. The mist has weird ways."

They left it at that.

**"Okay, ma'am," the paramedic said. "Just calm down. Your family is fine. The medication is starting to kick in."**

**"I'm not crazy! **

Several people laughed hysterically at this because the way Poseidon read it made it sound funny.

**This boy jumped out of the hole and the monster disappeared." Then she saw me. "There he is! That's the boy!"**

**I turned quickly and pulled Annabeth and Grover after me. We disappeared into the crowd.**

**"What's going on?" Annabeth demanded. "Was she talking about the Chihuahua on the elevator?"**

**I told them the whole story of the Chimera, Echidna, my high-dive act, and the underwater lady's message.**

Nico furrowed his eyebrows. "Why couldn't they have told the last chapter like that? It would have been so much easier."

Ares shrugged. "I totally agree with you. But then it would have been boring."

**"Whoa," said Grover. "We've got to get you to Santa Monica! You can't ignore a summons from your dad."**

"Yes you can." Hades said. "It would just be extremely stupid to do so. Especially if you're going into my realm." He looked a little proud about that last statement.

**Before Annabeth could respond, we passed another reporter doing a news break, and I almost froze in my tracks when he said, "Percy Jackson. **

Poseidon tightened his blanket around him. He was ready to pull it up over his head in an instant.

**That's right, Dan. Channel Twelve has learned that the boy who may have caused this explosion fits the description of a young man wanted by authorities for a serious New Jersey bus accident three days ago and the boy is believed to be traveling west. For our viewers at home, here is a photo of Percy Jackson."**

Poseidon cursed. This was not good.

"Now, now Poseidon. You shouldn't curse." Demeter said. She had a strict look on her face. Poseidon looked at her like, _Are you serious?_

**We ducked around the news van and slipped into an alley.**

**"First things first," I told Grover. "We've got to get out of town!"**

Everyone agreed.

**Somehow, we made it back to the Amtrak station with out getting spotted. We got on board the train just before it pulled out for Denver. The train trundled west as darkness fell, police lights still pulsing against the St. Louis skyline behind us.**

Demeter gave up on the children of the big three and their traits. They were all just too dramatic and deranged for her.

"That's enough for today." Hermes said. "Why don't you guys head to bed. We-" He gestured to all of the gods and goddesses. "Need to have an important meeting. Something about a centaur in a prom dress."

The kids agreed and left. Apollo looked excitedly at Hermes. "There was a _centaur_ in a prom dress?"

Hermes sighed. "Not as far as I know. I've only heard rumors. But that's not what I need to talk to you all about."

He smirked at Zeus, Demeter, Ares, and Hephaestus. "Pay up suckers. You lost the bet!"

The four of them groaned while the other gods and goddesses started demanding for their money.

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><p><strong>This is it for this weekend. I'll update more next weekend. Until next week.<strong>

**Erudite19**


	17. New Revelations

Annabeth slept in the element changing room with Thalia and Rachel. She slept in the hammock that she had slept in before. The sky above her was dark blue and the ocean reflected the color. The sound of the waves lapping against the shore was surpisingly soothing to her and she was able to sleep.

Thalia slept on the same cloud that she was sleeping on before. Above her, the stars and constellations were spread across the night sky. Below her, miniature New York was alight with activity as the New York Elite went to night clubs or as a man tried to mug a lady-who knew karate-of her money.

Rachel didn't sleep on a cloud. Yesterday, a seperate section had opened up for her. She was asleep on a plush bed that radiated warmth and heat. It was the colors of the sun- yellow with red spots every once in a while. Before they had gone to sleep, they had watched the sun set behind her bed.

Connor and Travis slept in the video game room. They had figured out that if you pressed a certain panel in the wall that two king size beds would pop out. They had hacked the game console they were playing on so that they could access the internet on it. After they had done that they had spent the night playing a marathon of MMO games before they had finally fallen asleep. Somehow, the sound of the videogames going off in the background were soothing.

Everyone else went to their regular rooms. After Hermes, Apollo, Hades, Dionysus, and Artemis collected their money from Ares, Demeter, Zeus, and Hephaestus all of the gods went to their seperate ways. Ares went home alone- much to his dismay.

Hephaestus and Aphrodite went to Hephaestus's palace on Olympus. It was as hot as a forge in there so Hephaestus offered to cool down the heat. While they waited for the heat to cool down, they went to the highest story in Hephaestus's palace.

It was the fifth story of the palace and it had a wall made entirely out of glass that you could slide open and let the cool air in. Hephaestus slid the wall of glass out of the way and Aphrodite snuggled up to him when he sat down. They were in a love seat.

He looked through one of the glass panels that he hadn't unslid. He was rather surprised at his reflection when he saw it. He hadn't looked in a mirror in ten thousand years. Since the day he was born. All of his bumps and bruises were gone. All of the welts and lumps that had been on his face originally had disappeared. It was all replaced by smooth skin.

He looked rather handsome. He wondered what would make his ugly face turn into something handsome. Then he felt Aphrodite shift on his side. She was sound asleep and laying on his shoulder. That's when it hit him.

(Like literally. I'm not using a metaphor or anything. Something actually hit him.)

A piece of paper had flown up from his desk because of the wind coming through the glass panels and had hit him on the side of the head. He grabbed the paper out of the air. He thought that it was probably an old piece of a schematic. He hadn't gone on that desk in eight thousand years.

He was about to throw it in a recycling bin that was nearby but a word caught his attention. He looked at the paper and read it. It was from Zeus to Hera.

_Hera, I have arranged Hephaestus and Aphrodite to be married as soon as Hephaestus is born. I have been told by the fates that Hephaestus will be born an ugly god. The only way to cure this would be if he was married to Aphrodite. If she ever loves him truly then his face will become handsome. I know that this will most likely never happen because Aphrodite will most likely never fall in love with Hephaestus but I felt like I needed to tell you because you can help those two since they'll be married._

Hephaestus gawked at the letter. Obviously, it had never gotten to Hera. Maybe Hermes wasn't born then. He decide to put the piece of paper away and enjoy his time with Aphrodite for now.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Finally! <em>This would've been up a long time ago but I had to rewrite it (because of my nosy dad) and I had a science project and...**

**Anyways... Please review. I'll update tomorrow morning or tonight and tomorrow afternoon.**

**Erudite19**


	18. Cheeseburgers

**Here's the entire chapter.**

* * *

><p>Hephaestus woke up considerably happy that morning. He didn't dare move because Aphrodite was sleeping next to him. For the first time in a long time, he actually paid attention to her. Sure he had to look at her during their wedding, (which was the only time they ever kissed) and sure he'd looked at her a couple of times during the solstice meetings but he never <em>really<em> paid attention to her.

Besides, he never got that close to her to look at her or really examine her. He liked how cute she looked when she slept. He remembered the note from last night and decided that he would talk to her after they finished reading today.

When he got to the throne room with Aphrodite, he found many of the gods and demigods talking already. The only person that wasn't there was Ares. Nobody looked at Hephaestus because they all thought that he was still ugly so no one noticed how handsome he really looked except for Aphrodite.

Ares flashed in thirty minutes later with the excuse that he had had a hangover. _Must have been a rough night._

* * *

><p><strong>"A God Buys us Cheeseburgers,"<strong> Hades read.

Hephaestus looked thoughtful. "At least one of us is being nice to our children. I would assume that it would be Poseidon but then that wouldn't make sense so..."

Ares scowled. "What sap is nice enough to buy those _brats_ cheeseburgers?"

Athena, Poseidon, and Dionysus glared at Ares for calling their children/subjects brats.

Apollo grinned. "And what if it was Aphrodite?"

Ares' eyes got wide. He started sputtering excuses but it was kind of hard with Aphrodite glaring at him so fiercely. He didn't want to go to sleep alone _again. _It was _such_ a lonely experience.

**The next afternoon, June 14, seven days before the solstice, our train rolled into Denver. We hadn't eaten since the night before in the dining car, somewhere in Kansas. We hadn't taken a shower since Half-Blood Hill,**

Aphrodite wrinkled her nose. Everyone else in the room just looked down right disgusted.

Clarisse sighed. "It's not like there's a shower that follows you everywhere you go when you're on a quest."

Nico grinned at the thought. He looked at his dad. "We should totally do that."

Hades thought about it for a second and then agreed with Nico.

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Oh suuure. And when you meet a monster you can ask them nicely to shower first so that their stink won't distract you while you're fighting."

Nico snapped his finger. "_Exactly. _I was just about to mention that."

Thalia looked at him like, _Are you kidding me? _Then she sighed and face-palmed. _This was Nico. He wasn't kidding._

**and I was sure that was obvious.**

**"Let's try to contact Chiron," Annabeth said. "I want to tell him about your talk with the river spirit."**

**"We can't use phones, right?"**

**"I'm not talking about phones."**

**We wandered through downtown for about half an hour, though I wasn't sure what Annabeth was looking for. The air was dry and hot, which felt weird after the humidity of St. Louis. Everywhere we turned, the Rocky Mountains seemed to be staring at me, like a tidal wave about to crash into the city.**

Artemis rolled her eyes. "And yet, _another_ comparison to the sea."

Poseidon didn't bother to reply to that comment.

**Finally we found an empty do-it-yourself car wash. We veered toward the stall farthest from the street, keeping our eyes open for patrol cars. We were three adolescents hanging out at a car wash without a car;**

Apollo shrugged. "It's not _that_ suspicious."

Artemis looked at him with a hesitant look on her face. "I'm not going to ask what you mean by that because I'm afraid that if I do, it's not going to end well."

Apollo just smiled at his sister mysteriously.

**any cop worth his doughnuts would figure we were up to no good.**

Nico began chuckling again. Thalia shook her head. "First the demonic math teachers, then the fruit of the looms Minotaur, the demonic grandmothers, and now cops worth their doughnuts... I don't even want to know what's going on in your head."

Demeter perked up. "Maybe there is hope for you after all Thalia. You're already on the first step to getting better."

Thalia just stared at Demeter for a while and then let it go. Hades started to read again but then Hermes stopped him.

"Wait a minute." Hermes said. "Demeter... how would you know what the first step to getting better is?"

Everyone turned to stare at her and her face completely flushed. "I-I-...well...um-"

Hades grinned wildly. "I knew it! You went to a mental institute. _Didn't_ you?"

Demeter was about to lie but then she saw Katie looking at her with a questioning look on her face so she confessed. "_Fine._ I went to a mental institute _once_. It was when I couldn't find Persephone. My dear Kore... taking by the stupid bum you all call the lord of the dead..."

Hades disregarded that last comment and started reading again. He had been called bum by her so many times that it didn't affect him anymore.

_Mother in laws..._

**"What exactly are we doing?" I asked, as Grover took out the spray gun.**

**"It's seventy-five cents," he grumbled. "I've only got two quarters left. Annabeth?"**

**"Don't look at me," she said. "The dining car wiped me out."**

**I fished out my last bit of change and passed Grover a quarter, which left me two nickels and one drachma from Medusa's place.**

**"Excellent," Grover said. "We could do it with a spray bottle, of course, but the connection isn't as good, and my arm gets tired of pumping."**

**"What are you talking about?"**

Leo, Jason, and Piper were about to ask the same question.

**He fed in the quarters and set the knob to FINE MIST. "I-M'ing."**

Piper raised her eyebrows. "Instant messaging?"

All of the demigods except for Jason and Leo cracked a smile.

"No." Annabeth said. "It'll explain."

**"Instant messaging?"**

Connor shook his head mournfully. "And now it's spreading to poor Piper."

Demeter sighed. "Maybe it's just a thing with all demigods. It's contagious from the big three's children and spreads to demigods that hang around them. Zeus knows how much has gone to Annabeth's head from hanging around with Percy too much."

Zeus cleared his throat. "Actually, I don't know."

Aphrodite furrowed her eyebrows. "Doesn't it seem a little unfair that Percy's not here? I mean Annabeth is going to be away from Percy for some time."

The other gods pondered this. The other demigods glanced at each other. Who knew Aphrodite would ask something like that? They all expected Athena to do that.

"Uhh..." Nico said. "Maybe he'll come later on when were reading the books. I mean that'll be cool. Maybe he just didn't show up because who ever sent us here didn't think he'd like to hear us comment on him so much when he was just starting out with his first quest. He did make a lot of mistakes..."

"Yeah..." Aphrodite said. "That makes sense."

All of the other gods dropped the subject and Hades kept on reading. Annabeth sent a thankful look towards Nico, who just shrugged and smiled.

**"Iris-messaging," Annabeth corrected. "The rainbow goddess Iris carries messages for the gods. If you know how to ask, and she's not too busy, she'll do the same for half-bloods."**

**"You summon the goddess with a spray gun?"**

Katie rolled her eyes. "Well if you say it that way then you won't get to summon her."

Apollo grinned. "I remember when Hermes tried to hit on her. He was all like: 'Hey sweet heart. I'm a messenger just like you. With me around, you'll never have to lift a finger."

Hermes stood up to silence Apollo but Apollo put a hand over his mouth. "When she looked at him weird he said: 'We could share everything. You can tell me exactly how you feel and I'll listen.' She thought he was playing around. She kicked him so hard! Well... let's just say, Hermes hasn't gone near her in ten years."

By the time he finished all of the gods were off of their seats laughing and the goddesses were looking at Hermes with an amused look on their faces.

Travis sighed. Yet another thing to teach another person. He took out his book and wrote: Hermes- how to hit on a girl.

**Grover pointed the nozzle in the air and water hissed out in a thick white mist. "Unless you know an easier way to make a rainbow."**

**Sure enough, late afternoon light filtered through the vapor and broke into colors.**

**Annabeth held her palm out to me. "Drachma, please."**

**I handed it over.**

**She raised the coin over her head. "O goddess, accept our offering."**

**She threw the drachma into the rainbow. It disappeared in a golden shimmer.**

**"Half-Blood Hill," Annabeth requested.**

**For a moment, nothing happened.**

**Then I was looking through the mist at strawberry fields, and the Long Island Sound in the distance. We seemed to be on the porch of the Big House. Standing with his back to us at the railing was a sandy-haired guy in shorts and an orange tank top. He was holding a bronze sword and seemed to be staring intently at something down in the meadow.**

Leo looked amazed. "Oh that is so cool!"

Almost everyone looked at him like he was insane. "What? I've never tried it before. I didn't even know how it worked."

"Oh."

**"Luke!" I called.**

Thalia frowned. Of course it had to be him.

**He turned, eyes wide. I could swear he was standing three feet in front of me through a screen of mist, except I could only see the part of him that appeared in the rainbow.**

**"Percy!" His scarred face broke into a grin. "Is that Annabeth, too? Thank the gods! Are you guys okay?"**

**"We're ... uh ... fine," Annabeth stammered. She was madly straightening her dirty T-shirt, trying to comb the loose hair out of her face.**

Annabeth glared at everyone while they looked away from her and chuckled. Aphrodite sighed contentedly.

**"We thought Chiron I mean-"**

**"He's down at the cabins." Luke's smile faded. "We're having some issues with the campers. Listen, is everything cool with you? Is Grover all right?"**

Connor scoffed. _Like he actually cares!_

**"I'm right here," Grover called. He held the nozzle out to one side and stepped into Luke's line of vision. "What kind of issues?"**

**Just then a big Lincoln Continental pulled into the car wash with its stereo turned to maximum hip-hop.**

Apollo broke out into a grin. "Yeaaaah! Now that's what I'm talking about."

Artemis shook her head. "Maybe that's how you became insane."

Demeter agreed, though she didn't say anything. She would sound like a hypocrite if she did.

**As the car slid into the next stall, the bass from the subwoofers vibrated so much, it shook the pavement.**

Hermes raised his eyebrows. "And I thought the Party Ponies blasted their music too loud."

**"Chiron had to what's that noise?" Luke yelled.**

**"I'll take care of it." Annabeth yelled back, looking very relieved to have an excuse to get out of sight.**

Some of the demigods cracked a smile.

**"Grover, come on!"**

**"What?" Grover said. "But-"**

**"Give Percy the nozzle and come on!" she ordered.**

**Grover muttered something about girls being harder to understand than the Oracle at Delphi,**

Several girls rolled their eyes while Rachel looked extremely offended.

Connor shrugged. "Well it's true."

He got slapped on the head multiple times.

"Ow! I was just saying that Rachel doesn't hide her feelings while the rest of you give out cryptic messages."

Rachel still looked pretty offended. The gods watched this amused. Free entertainment and they didn't have to work or pay the entertainers. Best of all, none of them were getting into a fight so they wouldn't have to hear Hera's blabbering mouth.

**then he handed me the spray gun and followed Annabeth.**

**I readjusted the hose so I could keep the rainbow going and still see Luke.**

**"Chiron had to break up a fight," Luke shouted to me over the music. "Things are pretty tense here, Percy. Word leaked out about the Zeus Poseidon standoff. We're still not sure how, probably the same scumbag who summoned the hellhound.**

Travis smirked. "He just called himself a scumbag. Does he know that? That is so hilarious."

Katie just shook her head at him. He had such a weird sense of humor.

Connor and Chris agreed with him. They were all still bitter towards Luke.

**Now the campers are starting to take sides. It's shaping up like the Trojan War all over again. Aphrodite, Ares, and Apollo are backing Poseidon, more or less. Athena is backing Zeus."**

Zeus looked alarmed. "Treason! Treason!"

All of a sudden, cages came down from the ceiling and surrounded Aphrodite, Ares, and Apollo. Hephaestus was stuck in a cage with Aphrodite because she had leaned on his shoulder while they were reading the book.

Poseidon shook his head. Zeus was really dramatic. "Zeus, this is in the future. We're reading a book about the future. This hasn't happened yet remember? Now... let's release the pissed off gods and goddesses. Let's release Aphrodite first because she looks extremely angry right now."

Zeus was about to yell at Poseidon but when he looked at Aphrodite he immediately released her. She looked like she was about to cut _him_ up in a million pieces and take his place as ruler of the heavens.

He released Ares and Apollo after receiving several glares from them. The creepiest glare was coming from Apollo, who never, _ever_ glared at anyone before.

Except maybe Orion.

**I shuddered to think that Clarisse's cabin would ever be on my dad's side for anything.**

Clarisse sighed at the questioning looks everyone was giving her. "I don't feel like explaining."

**In the next stall, I heard Annabeth and some guy arguing with each other, then the music's volume decreased drastically.**

All of the demigod turned to her. "What did you do?" Thalia asked. Then she saw a devilish smile creep up on Annabeth's face and quickly said, "Never mind. Keep reading."

**"So what's your status?" Luke asked me. "Chiron will be sorry he missed you."**

**I told him pretty much everything, including my dreams.**

**It felt so good to see him, to feel like I was back at camp even for a few minutes, that I didn't realize how long I had talked until the beeper went off on the spray machine, and I realized I only had one more minute before the water shut off.**

**"I wish I could be there," Luke told me. "We can't help much from here, I'm afraid, but listen ... it had to be Hades who took the master bolt.**

Hades frowned. "Why does _everyone_ always think it's _me?_"

"Because you're the most likely person." Athena said.

**He was there at Olympus at the winter solstice. I was chaperoning a field trip and we saw him."**

**"But Chiron said the gods can't take each other's magic items directly."**

**"That's true," Luke said, looking troubled. "Still ... Hades has the helm of darkness. How could anybody else sneak into the throne room and steal the master bolt?**

Leo nodded. "With how many alarms that went off the first day when we were sent here, you'd have to be really stealthy to steal the master bolt."

**You'd have to be invisible."**

Annabeth frowned. _Was he talking about me?_

**We were both silent, until Luke seemed to realize what he'd said.**

Athena narrowed her eyes.

**"Oh, hey," he protested. "I didn't mean Annabeth. She and I have known each other forever. She would never ... I mean, she's like a little sister to me."**

**I wondered if Annabeth would like that description.**

"Yes." Annabeth said.

**In the stall next to us, the music stopped completely. A man screamed in terror, car doors slammed, and the Lincoln peeled out of the car wash.**

Everyone looked at her with questioning looks. Some people even looked amused.

"Okay, now I really want to know." Thalia demanded.

Annabeth smiled. "Grover was distracting the people while I turned off the music. They wouldn't leave so Grover ended up showing them his hooves and goat fur. The man looked at him like he was crazy and tried to pull off the goat fur. Grover got so mad that he started chasing them around the car wash. They got back into their car and drove off because by that time Grover was foaming at the mouth. I don't know if goats can get rabies though."

Some people looked at her confused while others were on the floor laughing.

"Did you get that from Nico?" Clarisse asked.

"No. I'm telling the truth."

"See. Now we know how much of this nonsense that Annabeth got from hanging out with Percy too much." Demeter said.

Everyone decided to ignore her.

**"You'd better go see what that was," Luke said. "Listen, are you wearing the flying shoes? I'll feel better if I know they've done you some good."**

Connor scowled and was about to go off on a tirade about Luke but Travis leaped up and clamped his mouth shut.

"Keep reading." All of the gods looked at him with a suspicious look on their faces but they didn't say anything.

**"Oh ... uh, yeah!" I tried not to sound like a guilty liar. "Yeah, they've come in handy."**

**Hermes rolled his eyes. "He probably sounded like a total and complete liar. You can't really lie to my children. They'll see right through you."**

**"Really?" He grinned. "They fit and everything?"**

Travis had to hold Connor down to his chair really tight.

**The water shut off. The mist started to evaporate.**

**"Well, take care of yourself out there in Denver," Luke called, his voice getting fainter. "And tell Grover it'll be better this time! Nobody will get turned into a pine tree if he just-"**

Thalia frowned. _Luke just had to include that in there._

**But the mist was gone, and Luke's image faded to nothing. I was alone in a wet, empty car wash stall.**

Nico shook his head. _Such morbid thoughts._

**Annabeth and Grover came around the corner, laughing,**

Clarisse looked at Annabeth. "Okay, now I believe you about that."

**but stopped when they saw my face. Annabeth's smile faded. "What happened, Percy? What did Luke say?"**

**"Not much," I lied, my stomach feeling as empty as a Big Three cabin.**

"That's really big then." Jason said.

"And really empty." Thalia added.

**"Come on, let's find some dinner."**

**A few minutes later, we were sitting at a booth in a gleaming chrome diner.**

**All around us, families were eating burgers and drinking malts and sodas.**

**Finally the waitress came over. She raised her eyebrow skeptically. "Well?"**

**I said, "We, um, want to order dinner."**

**"You kids have money to pay for it?"**

**Grover's lower lip quivered. I was afraid he would start bleating, or worse, start eating the linoleum.**

Dionysus pondered this for a bit. "No, no. He'd start eating the leather seat first and _then_ the linoleum."

Aphrodite looked at him, a little disgusted at what a satyr would eat. "What's the difference?"

"Taste."

**Annabeth looked ready to pass out from hunger.**

**I was trying to think up a sob story for the waitress**

Travis sighed. "That's not going to happen any time soon."

**when a rumble shook the whole building; a motorcycle the size of a baby elephant had pulled up to the curb.**

Hephaestus sat up a little and paid more attention to the book. _Where had he seen a motorcycle _that _big?_

**All conversation in the diner stopped. The motorcycle's headlight glared red. Its gas tank had flames painted on it, and a shotgun holster riveted to either side, complete with shotguns. The seat was leather but leather that looked like ... well, Caucasian human skin.**

Aphrodite's eyes bugged out and then she started laughing hysterically. When everyone looked at her weird she said, "That's Ares' motorcycle."

Ares furrowed his eyebrow along with all of the other gods in the room. "We know that. But why are you laughing so much?"

Aphrodite smiled mischievously. "When Hades read the chapter title, you said, 'What sap is nice enough to buy those brats cheeseburgers?' You're the only god in this chapter right now and they're at a diner."

Everyone started cracking up at how ironic this was while Clarisse looked at her dad like, _And I thought you were tough. But now I find out you're a sap?_

**The guy on the bike would've made pro wrestlers run for Mama.**

Now Ares grinned at Clarisse. "See? I _am_ tough."

**He was dressed in a red muscle shirt and black jeans and a black leather duster, with a hunting knife strapped to his thigh. He wore red wraparound shades, and he had the cruelest, most brutal face I'd ever seen handsome, I guess, but wicked with an oily black crew cut and cheeks that were scarred from many, many fights.**

Hephaestus snickered. "More like motorcycle accidents."

**The weird thing was, I felt like I'd seen his face somewhere before.**

**As he walked into the diner, a hot, dry wind blew through the place.**

Poseidon scowled. "And I thought Zeus was dramatic. You know what? All children of Zeus are dramatic. There... now it all makes since."

**All the people rose, as if they were hypnotized, but the biker waved his hand dismissively and they all sat down again. Everybody went back to their conversations. The waitress blinked, as if somebody had just pressed the rewind button on her brain. She asked us again, "You kids have money to pay for it?"**

**The biker said, "It's on me."**

Several people snickered again.

**He slid into our booth, which was way too small for him, and crowded Annabeth against the window.**

Athena glared at Ares. He glared back but there was something off about it. Like he seemed a little nervous.

**He looked up at the waitress, who was gaping at him, and said, "Are you still here?"**

**He pointed at her, and she stiffened. She turned as if she'd been spun around, then marched back toward the kitchen.**

**The biker looked at me. I couldn't see his eyes behind the red shades, but bad feelings started boiling in my stomach. Anger, resentment, bitterness. I wanted to hit a wall. I wanted to pick a fight with somebody. Who did this guy think he was?**

Ares grinned. He had no idea what he was doing there but it would be good to feel the angry emotions coming off of Percy.

**He gave me a wicked grin. "So you're old Seaweed's kid, huh?"**

Poseidon glared at Ares. "Seriously people? What's with all the nicknames?"

**I should've been surprised, or scared, but instead I felt like I was looking at my stepdad, Gabe.**

Aphrodite frowned. She hated Gabe, he made her feel disgusted. If Ares made Percy feel like he was looking at Gabe then shouldn't Ares make her feel disgusted. She looked over to see him smiling wickedly and she decided that Ares _did_ make her feel disgusted.

She was glad that she was with Hephaestus now. She would have to end it with Ares soon. Besides, Hephaestus was very handsome now. She didn't know why but his skin had become extremely smooth and wasn't as lumpy and scratchy as it was in the first place.

**I wanted to rip this guy's head off. "What's it to you?"**

**Annabeth's eyes flashed me a warning. "Percy, this is-"**

**The biker raised his hand.**

**"S'okay," he said. "I don't mind a little attitude. Long as you remember who's the boss. You know who I am, little cousin?"**

**Then it struck me why this guy looked familiar. He had the same vicious sneer as some of the kids at Camp Half-Blood, the ones from cabin five.**

**"You're Clarisse's dad," I said. "Ares, god of War."**

Ares shrugged. "That's not how people usually recognize me… but I guess that works too."

**Ares grinned and took off his shades. Where his eyes should've been, there was only fire, empty sockets glowing with miniature nuclear explosions. "That's right, punk. I heard you broke Clarisse's spear."**

**"She was asking for it."**

Clarisse frowned and started mumbling things under her breath.

**"Probably. That's cool. I don't fight my kids' fights, you know? What I'm here for I heard you were in town. I got a little proposition for you."**

Poseidon raised an eyebrow at Ares, who looked extremely confused.

**The waitress came back with heaping trays of food cheeseburgers,**

**Nico and Thalia smiled.**

**fries, onion rings, and chocolate shakes.**

**Ares handed her a few gold drachmas.**

Several people looked at Ares confused.

**She looked nervously at the coins. "But, these aren't..."**

**Ares pulled out his huge knife and started cleaning his fingernails. "Problem, sweetheart?"**

Many goddesses looked disgusted at his behavior.

**The waitress swallowed, then left with the gold.**

**"You can't do that," I told Ares. "You can't just threaten people with a knife."**

Poseidon nodded.

**Ares laughed. "Are you kidding? I love this country. Best place since Sparta. Don't you carry a weapon, punk? You should. Dangerous world out there. Which brings me to my proposition. I need you to do me a favor."**

Now everyone was confused to what Ares could need.

**"What favor could I do for a god?"**

**"Something a god doesn't have time to do himself. It's nothing much. I left my shield at an abandoned water park here in town. I was going on a little ... date with my girlfriend.**

Several people looked away at Ares' frowning face.

**We were interrupted. I left my shield behind. I want you to fetch it for me."**

**"Why don't you go back and get it yourself?"**

**The fire in his eye sockets glowed a little hotter.**

**"Why don't I turn you into a prairie dog and run you over with my Harley? Because I don't feel like it.**

Hermes smiled at Ares. "Of course that's why you won't do it."

Apollo grinned. "If you did that, Poseidon would turn you into a boar and run you over with his chariot."

Ares swallowed nervously. Poseidon had a very ferocious glare.

Hephaestus thought about this. "That would get a lot of ratings on a show."

Ares would've glared at Hephaestus but he was too busy trying not to piss his pants.

**A god is giving you an opportunity to prove yourself, Percy Jackson. Will you prove yourself a coward?" He leaned forward. "Or maybe you only fight when there's a river to dive into, so your daddy can protect you."**

Ares nearly cowered at the look Poseidon was giving him.

**I wanted to punch this guy, but somehow, I knew he was waiting for that. Ares' power was causing my anger. He'd love it if I attacked. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction.**

Ares pouted.

**"We're not interested," I said. "We've already got a quest."**

**Ares's fiery eyes made me see things I didn't want to see blood and smoke and corpses on the battlefield.**

The demigods that had been in the Titan War frowned.

**"I know all about your quest, punk. When that item was first stolen, Zeus sent his best out looking for it: Apollo, Athena, Artemis, and me, naturally. If I couldn't sniff out a weapon that powerful ..." He licked his lips, as if the very thought of the master bolt made him hungry.**

Several people stared at him. Some were scared, disgusted, or creeped out.

**"Well ... if I couldn't find it, you got no hope. Nevertheless, I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Your dad and I go way back. After all, I'm the one who told him my suspicions about old Corpse Breath."**

Hades frowned. "You know what? I agree with Poseidon about the nick names."

Nico nodded along with his dad.

**"You told him Hades stole the bolt?"**

**"Sure.**

Hades growled at Ares.

**Framing somebody to start a war. Oldest trick in the book. I recognized it immediately.**

Hades narrowed his eyes. "Oh, I'm sure you noticed it. I'm also sure you'll soon notice my fist connecting with your face."

Ares' eyes bugged out. Poseidon and Zeus had to restrain Hades so Artemis took the book and started reading.

**In a way, you got me to thank for your little quest."**

Now Zeus had to restrain Hades and Poseidon.

**"Thanks," I grumbled.**

**"Hey, I'm a generous guy.**

Several gods coughed.

**Just do my little job, and I'll help you on your way. I'll arrange a ride west for you and your friends."**

Now everyone was really confused. _What would Ares need that he was willing to ask Percy, Annabeth, and Grover?_

**"We're doing fine on our own."**

Everyone snorted.

**"Yeah, right. No money. No wheels. No clue what you're up against. Help me out, and maybe I'll tell you something you need to know. Something about your mom."**

Annabeth shook her head. Now he was luring him into a trap.

**"My mom?"**

Zeus was having a rough time keeping the two gods back now. Hermes and Apollo had to step in to help.

Artemis shook her head at the scene unfolding in front of her. "Do you guys need some help Poseidon and Hermes?"

"No." Hermes grunted. "We're fine."

"Yeah." Apollo said. He was pinning Poseidon to his throne with Hermes' help while Zeus was holding back Hades.

"Just keep reading sis'."

**He grinned. "That got your attention. The water park is a mile west on Delancy. You can't miss it. Look for the Tunnel of Love ride."**

Everyone managed to clamp their hands over their ears before Aphrodite squealed. They could still hear her though. "That is _so sweet_!"

Athena shook her head. This was practically prophesying that Percy and Annabeth would end up together.

Poseidon and Hades forgot about pulverizing Ares so Zeus, Apollo, and Hermes went back to their thrones.

Hades was about to roll his eyes at Aphrodite's behavior-which would probably end with him having a stiletto smacking his head-but then he realized something and started laughing hysterically and in the process, falling off his throne.

Everyone looked at him completely bewildered. "Wow." Katie said. "The world really _is_ about to end."

Everyone else agreed. When Hades managed to control himself he sat back on his throne and wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Um… Dad, why were you laughing so much?" Nico asked.

Hades grinned broadly. "_Because_, Ares is a lover boy."

Ares looked extremely offended and was about to reply rudely but Hades continued. "He's running an errand for Aphrodite because he believes that if he does that, Aphrodite will come running back to him. He probably interrupted a date that Aphrodite and Hephaestus were on and was about to fight Hephaestus for her when they both flashed out. He forgot his shield there. Aphrodite got angry at him and he believes that this is the only way to repay for it. Why he can't get the shield himself I don't know."

Annabeth smiled along with the rest of the room's occupants. "That makes perfect sense."

Hades smiled. "The god of war, reduced to running a lover boy's errands."

Now Ares was glaring at both Annabeth and Hades and everyone else was trying extremely hard to stop their laughing.

How much more humiliated would he get? He must have really turned into a horrible excuse for a war god in the future.

Artemis passed Hades the book and he continued reading.

**"What interrupted your date?" I asked. "Something scare you off?"**

**Ares bared his teeth, but I'd seen his threatening look before on Clarisse. There was something false about it, almost like he was nervous.**

Athena rolled her eyes while Ares and Clarisse frowned. There was always something false about it. That's why Ares could never keep his glare once he started it.

**"You're lucky you met me, punk, and not one of the other Olympians. They're not as forgiving of rudeness as I am.**

"That's true."

**I'll meet you back here when you're done. Don't disappoint me."**

**After that I must have fainted, or fallen into a trance, because when I opened my eyes again, Ares was gone. I might've thought the conversation had been a dream, but Annabeth and Grover's expressions told me otherwise.**

**"Not good," Grover said. "Ares sought you out, Percy. This is not good."**

**I stared out the window. The motorcycle had disappeared.**

**Did Ares really know something about my mom, or was he just playing with me?**

Hades shrugged. "He probably knows. Word around Olympus travels fast."

**Now that he was gone, all the anger had drained out of me. I realized Ares must love to mess with people's emotions. That was his power cranking up the passions so badly, they clouded your ability to think.**

Artemis pondered that theory. That was probably why his children did so many rash things.

**"It's probably some kind of trick," I said. "Forget Ares. Let's just go."**

Ares' upper lip twitched.

**"We can't," Annabeth said. "Look, I hate Ares as much as anybody,**

Athena nodded along with Annabeth.

**but you don't ignore the gods unless you want serious bad fortune. He wasn't kidding about turning you into a rodent."**

Dionysus frowned from behind his newspaper. "That makes no sense."

Poseidon nodded with Dionysus.

"You'd think he'd turn him into dolphin or at least a starfish. A rodent just doesn't make sense. I mean where does that even _come_ from?"

Poseidon still nodded along with Dionysus. He knew Dionysus wasn't trying to insult his son. It just made sense that Percy be turned into an animal of the sea not a _rodent_. Still, he would pulverize any god that tried to do that to his son.

**I looked down at my cheeseburger, which suddenly didn't seem so appetizing.**

Thalia and Nico frowned.

**"Why does he need us?"**

**"Maybe it's a problem that requires brains,"**

Several gods chuckled as Annabeth blushed at her comment. Ares just shook his head.

**Annabeth said. "Ares has strength. That's all he has. Even strength has to bow to wisdom sometimes."**

"Exactly." Athena said.

Ares snorted. "You've got no proof of that."

"Oh." Athena raised her eyebrows. "I could probably name a thousand examples of that. First, the incident with-"

Poseidon raised his eyebrows in panic. "Read Hades!"

**"But this water park ... he acted almost scared. What would make a war god run away like that?"**

Everyone looked confused while Hephaestus smiled confidently. He knew _exactly_ what would make Ares scared.

**Annabeth and Grover glanced nervously at each other.**

**Annabeth said, "I'm afraid we'll have to find out."**

**The sun was sinking behind the mountains by the time we found the water park. Judging from the sign, it once had been called WATERLAND, but now some of the letters were smashed out, so it read WAT R A D.**

**The main gate was padlocked and topped with barbed wire. Inside, huge dry waterslides and tubes and pipes curled everywhere, leading to empty pools. Old tickets and advertisements fluttered around the asphalt. With night coming on, the place looked sad and creepy.**

**"If Ares brings his girlfriend here for a date," I said, staring up at the barbed wire, "I'd hate to see what she looks like."**

Aphrodite frowned.

**"Percy," Annabeth warned. "Be more respectful."**

**"Why? I thought you hated Ares."**

**"He's still a god. And his girlfriend is very temperamental."**

Several gods and goddesses found their shoes interesting or their thrones needing some new polish because it was getting dull or they started wondering about what they would do Saturday night.

**"You don't want to insult her looks," Grover added.**

**"Who is she? Echidna?"**

Aphrodite set her jaw while the rest of the deities put their hands over their ears waiting for her to start yelling or screaming.

"Hit the brig!" Hermes yelled. He, Apollo, Dionysus, Hades, Poseidon, Zeus, and even Ares were suddenly decked out in camouflage and were jumping behind their thrones. The demigods were afraid because they had never seen their parents act like this so they hid behind their seats.

When she didn't do anything but roll her eyes they all looked at her in wonder. Hephaestus was hesitant to question her behavior.

Hermes and Apollo nudged Ares. "Dude… say something."

Ares looked bewildered. "Why me?"

"Because," Poseidon whispered. "You're her ex. That makes you extremely available for questioning her."

Hades nodded. "You should listen to Poseidon. He's got a lot of experience with girls because they border his kingdom. You saw how many kids he had back in the day."

Poseidon shook his head at Hades. "Whatever."

When Ares didn't do anything, Zeus pushed him from behind his throne and he landed on the ground. He got up and was about to ask Aphrodite if she was okay but he noticed her whispering to Hephaestus about something so he turned back around and told the guys that it was safe to get out.

He was extremely crestfallen but he didn't say anything or show it. He was good at keeping up a front.

**"No, Aphrodite," Grover said, a little dreamily. "Goddess of love."**

**"I thought she was married to somebody," I said. "Hephaestus."**

**"What's your point?" he asked.**

**"Oh." I suddenly felt the need to change the subject. "So how do we get in?"**

**"Maia!"**

**Grover's shoes sprouted wings.**

**He flew over the fence, did an unintended somersault in midair, then stumbled to a landing on the opposite side. He dusted off his jeans, as if he'd planned the whole thing. "You guys coming?"**

Nico smiled. "Smooth…"

**Annabeth and I had to climb the old-fashioned way, holding down the barbed wire for each other as we crawled over the top.**

**The shadows grew long as we walked through the park, checking out the attractions. There was Ankle Biter Island, Head Over Wedgie, and Dude, Where's My Swimsuit?**

Hermes smiled. "I remember when I came up with those names."

Apollo grinned and was about to say something but then they heard a rasping, muffled sound. Like a snakes.

Everyone started looking around to find the voice but then Hermes said, "Wait a minute."

He reached into a pocket on his camouflage pants and took out a phone that had two snakes on the antenna.

"I made up those names." George whined.

"No you didn't," Martha said. "I did."

The two snakes started chasing each other around the antenna on the phone.

"Oh, quit it you two." Hermes said. He put them on silent and put them back in his pocket.

**No monsters came to get us. Nothing made the slightest noise.**

**We found a souvenir shop that had been left open. Merchandise still lined the shelves: snow globes, pencils, postcards, and racks of**

**"Clothes," Annabeth said. "Fresh clothes."**

**"Yeah," I said. "But you can't just-"**

**"Watch me."**

Travis and Connor gasped. "And I thought it was too late for Annabeth." Travis shook his head.

Connor nodded. "Maybe we can still work on her." Both of the brothers grinned at Annabeth.

"No. Don't you dare pull out that book Travis."

**She snatched an entire row of stuff of the racks and disappeared into the changing room.**

Connor pantomimed a faint. "And it only gets better and better."

**A few minutes later she came out in Waterland flower-print shorts, a big red Waterland T-shirt, and commemorative Waterland surf shoes. A Waterland backpack was slung over her shoulder, obviously stuffed with more goodies.**

"_That_ is what I call a heist." Hermes said.

**"What the heck." Grover shrugged. Soon, all three of us were decked out like walking advertisements for the defunct theme park.**

Apollo grinned. "Walking advertisements. You should do that Hephaestus. Get more ratings for your TV."

Hephaestus thought about it. "That sounds like a really good idea."

**We continued searching for the Tunnel of Love.**

Aphrodite sighed contently.

**I got the feeling that the whole park was holding its breath. "So Ares and Aphrodite," I said, to keep my mind off the growing dark,**

Hades smiled mysteriously.

**"they have a thing going?"**

**"That's old gossip, Percy,"**

Leo smiled. "_Very_ old gossip now."

**Annabeth told me. "Three-thousand-year-old gossip."**

"And now it's ended." Chris agreed, disregarding Ares' glare.

**"What about Aphrodite's husband?"**

Hephaestus was paying complete attention now. Before he had been playing with Aphrodite's fingers.

**"Well, you know," she said. "Hephaestus. The blacksmith. He was crippled when he was a baby, thrown off Mount Olympus by Zeus.**

Zeus face-palmed at the looks he was getting from Leo, Hephaestus, and Aphrodite. "Why does everyone always think it's me? It's Hera for my sake, not me!"

**So he isn't exactly handsome. Clever with his hands, and all, but Aphrodite isn't into brains and talent, you know?"**

"Not until now." Travis whispered to Katie, though all the demigods heard him.

**"She likes bikers."**

Some of the gods chuckled at that.

**"Whatever."**

"He just keeps finding ways to annoy you, doesn't he?" Thalia whispered to Annabeth.

She sighed. "Yeah."

**"Hephaestus knows?"**

**"Oh sure," Annabeth said. "He caught them together once. I mean, literally caught them, in a golden net, and invited all the gods to come and laugh at them.**

Hephaestus blushed as Aphrodite frowned at the memory. The rest of the gods frowned. It was not a laughing experience.

**Hephaestus is always trying to embarrass them. That's why they meet in out-of-the-way places, like ..."**

**She stopped, looking straight ahead. "Like that."**

Aphrodite smiled broadly, forgetting all about the golden net incident.

**In front of us was an empty pool that would've been awesome for skateboarding. It was at least fifty yards across and shaped like a bowl.**

**Around the rim, a dozen bronze statues of Cupid stood guard with wings spread and bows ready to fire. On the opposite side from us, a tunnel opened up, probably where the water flowed into when the pool was full. The sign above it read, THRILL RIDE O' LOVE: THIS IS NOT YOUR PARENTS' TUNNEL OF LOVE!**

Several demigods snickered at Annabeth's flushed face.

**Grover crept toward the edge. "Guys, look."**

**Marooned at the bottom of the pool was a pink-and-white two-seater boat with a canopy over the top and little hearts painted all over it.**

Many of the guys in the room looked sick in the stomach. Some of the girls just looked disgusted (not including Aphrodite).

**In the left seat, glinting in the fading light, was Ares's shield, a polished circle of bronze.**

Poseidon shook his head. "It just had to be there."

**"This is too easy,"**

"Way too easy." Athena mumbled. She knew where this was going and it was not going to end well.

**I said. "So we just walk down there and get it?"**

**Annabeth ran her fingers along the base of the nearest Cupid statue.**

**"There's a Greek letter carved here," she said. "Eta. I wonder ..."**

Now all of the gods sat up. They recognized the letter.

Ares, Apollo, Hermes, Demeter, Dionysus, Artemis, Zeus, and Hades grinned. This'll be good.

**"Grover," I said, "you smell any monsters?"**

**He sniffed the wind. "Nothing."**

**"Nothing like, in-the-Arch-and-you-didn't-smell-Echidna nothing, or really nothing?"**

Dionysus frowned. "Wow. That was really hurtful."

**Grover looked hurt. "I told you, that was underground."**

Dionysus nodded.

**"Okay, I'm sorry." I took a deep breath. "I'm going down there."**

**"I'll go with you." Grover didn't sound too enthusiastic, but I got the feeling he was trying to make up for what had happened in St. Louis.**

"Most likely."

**"No," I told him. "I want you to stay up top with the flying shoes. You're the Red Baron, a flying ace, remember? I'll be counting on you for backup, in case something goes wrong."**

**Grover puffed up his chest a little.**

Artemis rolled her eyes. _Men._

**"Sure. But what could go wrong?"**

Jason shook his head. "And now he's jinxed it."

**"I don't know. Just a feeling. Annabeth, come with me-"**

Athena face-palmed and groaned while Aphrodite smiled brightly.

**"Are you kidding?" She looked at me as if I'd just dropped from the moon. Her cheeks were bright red.**

**"What's the problem now?" I demanded.**

**"Me, go with you to the ... the 'Thrill Ride of Love'? How embarrassing is that? What if somebody saw me?"**

Athena sighed a little. At least Annabeth had some sense in the first couple days of their relationship.

**"Who's going to see you?" But my face was burning now, too. Leave it to a girl to make everything complicated.**

All of the girls in the room huffed.

**"Fine," I told her. "I'll do it myself." But when I started down the side of the pool, she followed me, muttering about how boys always messed things up.**

Now all of the boys huffed while the girls nodded their heads, agreeing with Annabeth.

**We reached the boat. The shield was propped on one seat, and next to it was a lady's silk scarf.**

Aphrodite smirked. This just kept on getting better and better with every word.

**I tried to imagine Ares and Aphrodite here, a couple of gods meeting in a junked-out amusement-park ride. Why? Then I noticed something I hadn't seen from up top: mirrors all the way around the rim of the pool, facing this spot. We could see ourselves no matter which direction we looked. That must be it. While Ares and Aphrodite were smooching with each other they could look at their favorite people: themselves.**

Everyone burst out laughing. Ares pouted because he wouldn't get to do that anymore. Aphrodite frowned. She wasn't conceded.

Hephaestus smiled but managed to keep himself from laughing, that wouldn't go well with Aphrodite.

**I picked up the scarf. It shimmered pink, and the perfume was indescribable rose, or mountain laurel. Something good. I smiled, a little dreamy, and was about to rub the scarf against my cheek**

Some of the gods smiled a little dreamy too.

**when Annabeth ripped it out of my hand and stuffed it in her pocket. "Oh, no you don't. Stay away from that love magic."**

Aphrodite pouted. "Now why would you do that?"

In response, Annabeth's cheeks colored a little.

**"What?"**

**"Just get the shield, Seaweed Brain, and let's get out of here."**

Athena nodded.

**The moment I touched the shield, I knew we were in trouble. My hand broke through something that had been connecting it to the dashboard. A cobweb, I thought, but then I looked at a strand of it on my palm and saw it was some kind of metal filament, so fine it was almost invisible. A trip wire.**

"Oh no." Poseidon groaned. Hephaestus was grinning broadly now.

**"Wait," Annabeth said.**

**"Too late."**

**"There's another Greek letter on the side of the boat, another Eta. This is a trap."**

"Yeah…" Hephaestus said.

Realization flashed across Hades' face. _"That's_ why Ares was so afraid of getting his shield. He knew that Hephaestus had made a trap for him if he tried to go back to get it."

**Noise erupted all around us, of a million gears grinding, as if the whole pool were turning into one giant machine.**

Hephaestus shook his head. "Not turning, _Is_."

**Grover yelled, "Guys!"**

**Up on the rim, the Cupid statues were drawing their bows into firing position. Before I could suggest taking cover, they shot, but not at us. They fired at each other, across the rim of the pool. Silky cables trailed from the arrows, arcing over the pool and anchoring where they landed to form a huge golden asterisk. Then smaller metallic threads started weaving together magically between the main strands, making a net.**

"Great, just great." Poseidon said. He took out his blanket from before and put it on himself.

**"We have to get out," I said.**

**"Duh!" Annabeth said.**

"It's amazing how you two can be so sarcastic when you might die." Piper said. Annabeth shrugged.

I grabbed the shield and we ran, but going up the slope of the pool was not as easy as going down.

**"Come on!" Grover shouted.**

**He was trying to hold open a section of the net for us, but wherever he touched it, the golden threads started to wrap around his hands.**

"It was a fool proof trap." Annabeth muttered.

**The Cupids' heads popped open. Out came video cameras. Spotlights rose up all around the pool, blinding us with illumination, and a loudspeaker voice boomed: "Live to Olympus in one minute ... Fifty-nine seconds, fifty-eight ..."**

Almost all of the deities were smiling now. "We're going to get to watch this in five years." Apollo said.

"That is going to be awesome." Hermes agreed.

"I'll get a lot more ratings." Hephaestus mused ignoring the glare being sent towards him from Athena.

**"Hephaestus!" Annabeth screamed. "I'm so stupid.**

Everyone gasped including Athena. Annabeth huffed and crossed her arms. "Oh, let it go already."

**'Eta is H.' He made this trap to catch his wife with Ares. Now we're going to be broadcast live to Olympus and look like absolute fools!"**

"Yeah!" Dionysus said, sounding way too enthusiastic. Now _Athena_ took off her heels and threw it at his head.

**We'd almost made it to the rim when the row of mirrors opened like hatches and thousands of tiny metallic... things poured out.**

Annabeth winced, remembering what those _'tiny metallic things' _were.

**Annabeth screamed.**

Several demigods looked at her surprised.

"You screamed?" Clarisse said incredulously.

"But that doesn't make sense." Thalia said. "Why would you-"

Then she realized why. "Oh… Isn't that a coincidence?"

"What?" The rest of the demigods looked at Thalia confused but she just shrugged and waited for Hades to keep reading.

**It was an army of wind-up creepy-crawlies: bronze-gear bodies, spindly legs, little pincer mouths, all scuttling toward us in a wave of clacking, whirring metal.**

**"Spiders!" Annabeth said. "Sp-sp-aaaah!"**

"Ohhhh!" The demigods said. The gods nodded.

The Stolls were about to start laughing but then decided against it at the look on Annabeth's face.

**I'd never seen her like this before. She fell backward in terror and almost got overwhelmed by the spider robots before I pulled her up and dragged her back toward the boat.**

"Wow." Jason said. He didn't know that spiders could do that to a person.

Piper was surprised. She knew that Annabeth was a strong person but she had never thought that she would be like that.

The Stolls were secretly planning their next prank on the Athena cabin (and if they ever met them, the Minerva cabin).

**The things were coming out from all around the rim now, millions of them, flooding toward the center of the pool, completely surrounding us.**

**I told myself they probably weren't programmed to kill, just corral us and bite us and make us look stupid. Then again, this was a trap meant for gods. And we weren't gods.**

Poseidon whimpered.

**Annabeth and I climbed into the boat.**

**I started kicking away the spiders as they swarmed aboard. I yelled at Annabeth to help me, but she was too paralyzed to do much more than scream.**

Some people smiled and looked away from Annabeth.

**"Thirty, twenty-nine," called the loudspeaker.**

**The spiders started spitting out strands of metal thread, trying to tie us down. The strands were easy enough to break at first, but there were so many of them, and the spiders just kept coming. I kicked one away from Annabeth's leg and its pincers took a chunk out of my new surf shoe.**

Athena gapped at Hephaestus. Then again, the shoes must have been really old since the amusement park had been shut down for some time.

**Grover hovered above the pool in his flying sneakers, trying to pull the net loose, but it wouldn't budge.**

**Think, I told myself. Think.**

"That's pretty hard to do in a situation like that." Connor said.

Travis agreed. No one questioned them. They didn't want to know the answer or how Connor and Travis knew that.

**The Tunnel of Love entrance was under the net. We could use it as an exit, except that it was blocked by a million robot spiders.**

**"Fifteen, fourteen," the loudspeaker called.**

**Water, I thought. Where does the ride's water come from?**

**Then I saw them: huge water pipes behind the mirrors, where the spiders had come from. And up above the net, next to one of the Cupids, a glass-windowed booth that must be the controller's station.**

**"Grover!" I yelled. "Get into that booth! Find the 'on' switch!"**

**"But-"**

**"Do it!" It was a crazy hope, **

Thalia sighed. It was always a crazy hope.

Poseidon didn't care. As long as the water came and swept them away before the cameras started rolling and they were broadcasted on Olympus.

**but it was our only chance. The spiders were all over the prow of the boat now. Annabeth was screaming her head off. I had to get us out of there.**

**Grover was in the controller's booth now, slamming away at the buttons.**

**"Five, four-"**

**Grover looked up at me hopelessly, raising his hands. He was letting me know that he'd pushed every button, but still nothing was happening.**

"Oh great."

**I closed my eyes and thought about waves, rushing water, the Mississippi River. I felt a familiar tug in my gut. I tried to imagine that I was dragging the ocean all the way to Denver.**

"That's insane." Nico said. "I've never heard or spoken an insane thing like that in my life." Hades nodded with him.

Everyone stared at the two disbelieving.

Artemis shook her head. "You know what? Just read Hades."

**"Two, one, zero!"**

**Water exploded out of the pipes. It roared into the pool, sweeping away the spiders. I pulled Annabeth into the seat next to me and fastened her seat belt just as the tidal wave slammed into our boat, over the top, whisking the spiders away and dousing us completely, but not capsizing us. The boat turned, lifted in the flood, and spun in circles around the whirlpool.**

"I would get so dizzy if that happened." Chris said.

**The water was full of short-circuiting spiders, some of them smashing against the pool's concrete wall with such force they burst.**

Hephaestus frowned. "I should've made them water proof."

**Spotlights glared down at us. The Cupid-cams were rolling, live to Olympus.**

Poseidon grimaced and brought out his blanket from before and covered himself.

**But I could only concentrate on controlling the boat. I willed it to ride the current, to keep away from the wall. Maybe it was my imagination, but the boat seemed to respond.**

**At least, it didn't break into a million pieces. We spun around one last time, the water level now almost high enough to shred us against the metal net.**

The room was completely silent now.

**Then the boat's nose turned toward the tunnel and we rocketed through into the darkness.**

**Annabeth and I held tight, both of us screaming as the boat shot curls and hugged corners and took forty-five-degree plunges past pictures of Romeo and Juliet and a bunch of other Valentine's Day stuff.**

Aphrodite felt like she was about to cry. Young love was so cute nowadays. Hephaestus felt her sniffle a little and he gave her a tissue.

**Then we were out of the tunnel, the night air whistling through our hair as the boat barreled straight toward the exit.**

Everyone sighed except for Annabeth. Aphrodite pouted and stopped crying, _Was it over so fast?_

**If the ride had been in working order, we would've sailed off a ramp between the golden Gates of Love**

Aphrodite smiled.

**and splashed down safely in the exit pool. But there was a problem. The Gates of Love were chained. Two boats that had been washed out of the tunnel before us were now piled against the barricade one submerged, the other cracked in half.**

Athena's mouth was hanging open now and Artemis had to close it.

**"Unfasten your seat belt," I yelled to Annabeth.**

**"Are you crazy?"**

"Yes."

**"Unless you want to get smashed to death." I strapped Ares' shield to my arm. "We're going to have to jump for it." My idea was simple and insane.**

Everyone groaned.

**As the boat struck, we would use its force like a springboard to jump the gate. I'd heard of people surviving car crashes that way, getting thrown thirty or forty feet away from an accident. With luck, we would land in the pool.**

"So reckless…" Athena mumbled.

**Annabeth seemed to understand. She gripped my hand as the gates got closer.**

A certain goddess of love smirked.

**"On my mark," I said.**

"No!" Athena screamed.

**"No! On my mark!"**

**"What?"**

**"Simple physics!" she yelled. "Force times the trajectory angle-"**

"What?"

**"Fine.'" I shouted. "On your mark!"**

Everyone laughed at this.

**She hesitated ... hesitated ... then yelled, "Now!"**

**Crack!**

**Annabeth was right.**

"When is she never?" Chris asked, forgetting about the entire ordeal that happened so many days before.

Thalia clapped her hand over Nico's mouth to stop him from talking.

**If we'd jumped when I thought we should've, we would've crashed into the gates. She got us maximum lift.**

Athena smiled at Annabeth.

**Unfortunately, that was a little more than we needed.**

Poseidon frowned.

**Our boat smashed into the pileup and we were thrown into the air, straight over the gates, over the pool, and down toward solid asphalt.**

Jason grimaced. That would be a horrible fall.

**Something grabbed me from behind.**

Poseidon tensed. _Had the furies come back to get them?_

**Annabeth yelled, "Ouch!"**

**Grover!**

Poseidon sighed in relief.

**In midair, he had grabbed me by the shirt, and Annabeth by the arm, and was trying to pull us out of a crash landing, but Annabeth and I had all the momentum.**

Athena was frantically trying to think of different ways to slow the fall.

**"You're too heavy!" Grover said. "We're going down!"**

**We spiraled toward the ground, Grover doing his best to slow the fall.**

**We smashed into a photo-board, Grover's head going straight into the hole where tourists would put their faces, pretending to be Noo-Noo the Friendly Whale.**

Apollo, Hermes, and Ares laughed silently so Dionysus wouldn't glare at them.

**Annabeth and I tumbled to the ground, banged up but alive. Ares's shield was still on my arm.**

Ares nodded in approval.

**Once we caught our breath, Annabeth and I got Grover out of the photo-board and thanked him for saving our lives. I looked back at the Thrill Ride of Love. The water was subsiding. Our boat had been smashed to pieces against the gates.**

Athena and Poseidon winced.

**A hundred yards away, at the entrance pool, the Cupids were still filming.**

Poseidon groaned from under his blanket.

**The statues had swiveled so that their cameras were trained straight on us, the spotlights in our faces.**

**"Show's over!" I yelled. "Thank you! Good night!"**

Travis shook his head. "Of course Percy would do that."

**The Cupids turned back to their original positions. The lights shut off. The park went quiet and dark again, except for the gentle trickle of water into the Thrill Ride of Love's exit pool. I wondered if Olympus had gone to a commercial break, or if our ratings had been any good.**

"Probably both." Hephaestus grinned.

**I hated being teased. I hated being tricked. And I had plenty of experience handling bullies who liked to do that stuff to me.**

Jason nodded. He agreed whole-heartedly with Percy.

**I hefted the shield on my arm and turned to my friends. "We need to have a little talk with Ares."**

"Yes!" Poseidon seethed.

* * *

><p><strong>This chapter was way too long.<strong>

**Erudite19**


	19. Zebras in Vegas

**The entire chapter.**

* * *

><p>"<strong>We Take a Zebra to Vegas," <strong>Demeter read.

**The war god was waiting for us in the diner parking lot.**

Ares glared at everyone who was laughing at him.

**"Well, well," he said. "You didn't get yourself killed."**

**"You knew it was a trap," I said.**

**Ares gave me a wicked grin. "Bet that crippled black smith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. You looked good on TV."**

Poseidon, Athena, and Dionysus glared at Ares.

**I shoved his shield at him. "You're a jerk."**

Athena nodded in approval to Percy's statement.

**Annabeth and Grover caught their breath.**

Thalia shook her head. Percy was so reckless. If she had a hundred dollars for every time that Percy bad mouthed a god or goddess or was probably going to bad mouth a god or goddess-because who knew what he'd say to Hera for stealing his memories-she'd probably have thousands of dollars.

**Ares grabbed the shield and spun it in the air like pizza dough. It changed form, melting into a bulletproof vest. He slung it across his back.**

**"See that truck over there?" He pointed to an eighteen-wheeler parked across the street from the diner. "That's your ride. Take you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas."**

**The eighteen-wheeler had a sign on the back, which I could read only because it was reverse-printed white on black, a good combination for dyslexia: KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.**

Annabeth narrowed her eyes. _Humane?_

**I said, "You're kidding."**

**Ares snapped his fingers. The back door of the truck unlatched. "Free ride west, punk. Stop complaining. And here's a little something for doing the job."**

Aphrodite raised her eyebrows at Ares. _Why was he being so generous?_

**He slung a blue nylon backpack off his handlebars and tossed it to me.**

**Inside were fresh clothes for all of us, twenty bucks in cash, a pouch full of golden drachmas, and a bag of Double Stuff Oreos.**

Aphrodite was about to say something but Artemis beat her to it. "What's with you? Why are you so nice?"

Everyone except for Annabeth was looking at Ares confused. Annabeth was looking at him in irritation.

He shrugged. "I don't know what I'm doing. This is the future. Ask Annabeth. She probably knows."

When everyone turned to Annabeth and saw the irritated look on her face they figured that Ares was up to no good and that it was best to just reading.

**I said, "I don't want your lousy—"**

**"Thank you, Lord Ares," Grover interrupted, giving me his best red-alert warning look. "Thanks a lot."**

**I gritted my teeth. It was probably a deadly insult to refuse something from a god, **

"Yes."

**but I didn't want anything that Ares had touched. Reluctantly, I slung the backpack over my shoulder. I knew my anger was being caused by the war god's presence, but I was still itching to punch him in the nose. He reminded me of every bully I'd ever faced: Nancy Bobofit, Clarisse, Smelly Gabe, sarcastic teachers—every jerk who'd called me stupid in school **

The demigods frowned.

"Wow." Hermes said frowning. "Teachers who call you stupid in school. That's a new personal low for teachers all around the world."

Athena agreed with him.

**or laughed at me when I'd gotten expelled.**

Everyone frowned. Almost all of the demigods had gone through things like this before.

**I looked back at the diner, which had only a couple of customers now. The waitress who'd served us dinner was watching nervously out the window, like she was afraid Ares might hurt us. She dragged the fry cook out from the kitchen to see. She said something to him. He nodded, held up a little disposable camera and snapped a picture of us.**

Poseidon groaned from under his blanket.

**Great, I thought. We'll make the papers again tomorrow.**

**I imagined the headline: TWELVE-YEAR-OLD OUTLAW BEATS UP DEFENSELESS BIKER.**

Everyone laughed at the headline and the mental image of Ares lying on the ground crippled.

"Yeah right." Ares scoffed. "Like he could land a single blow on me."

Everyone rolled their eyes. Annabeth smiled inwardly when she remembered the little fight that Ares and Percy had at the beach.

**"You owe me one more thing," I told Ares, trying to keep my voice level. "You promised me information about my mother."**

**"You sure you can handle the news?" He kick started his motorcycle. "She's not dead."**

**The ground seemed to spin beneath me. "What do you mean?"**

**"I mean she was taken away from the Minotaur before she could die. She was turned into a shower of gold, right? That's metamorphosis. Not death. She's being kept."**

Nico's face lighted up in a smile. "Do you think Houdini's skeleton performed the metamorphosis? That'd be so cool."

Katie shook her head. "Or it could just be your dad."

"Oh yeah."

**"Kept. Why?"**

**"You need to study war, punk. Hostages. You take somebody to control somebody else."**

**"Nobody's controlling me."**

Everyone frowned, except for Ares.

**He laughed. "Oh yeah? See you around, kid."**

**I balled up my fists. "You're pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues."**

Almost everyone gasped while Ares' face heated up.

**Behind his sunglasses, fire glowed. I felt a hot wind in my hair. "We'll meet again, Percy Jackson. Next time you're in a fight, watch your back."**

**He revved his Harley, then roared off down Delancy Street.**

**Annabeth said, "That was not smart, Percy."**

**"I don't care."**

Athena frowned. This was who her daughter was associated with?

**"You don't want a god as your enemy. Especially not that god."**

Ares nodded in approval to that statement.

**"Hey, guys," Grover said. "I hate to interrupt, but ..."**

Nico looked confused. "I hate it when people do that. Why do they say that? It's not like they like to interrupt so why do they say that they hate to interrupt?"

Annabeth shrugged. "It's just how people speak. It's not like they're taught exactly what to say at every given moment."

Nico thought about it for awhile. "I should do that! When souls are reborn I'll teach them what to say and then take them into the world of the living. That would be so cool!"

"We'll help you." Connor and Travis said.

Thalia looked a bit alarmed. "That would _not_ be cool."

Annabeth agreed. "We would be living in an apocalypse."

Clarisse frowned. "And guess who would be ruling."

All eyes turned to Nico who had a devilish grin on his face. Everyone shivered, except Hades. He looked at Nico with a proud look on his face.

Hermes scowled. "Yeah right. The day I bow down to Nico is the day Athena and Poseidon get married."

Athena looked at Hermes with a downright disgusting look on her face while Poseidon could be heard throwing up in a bucket under his blanket.

Apollo grimaced. He got up and patted Poseidon's back. "It's alright. We all hate the idea to."

Piper groaned and clutched her head. "This is just like Ares' lecture."

Several people rushed to the bathroom to puke. Annabeth couldn't do anything because her brain momentarily stopped working.

When they finally got settled again Zeus said, "_Never again._ Keep reading Demeter."

**He pointed toward the diner. At the register, the last two customers were paying their check, two men in identical black coveralls, with a white logo on their backs that matched the one on the KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL truck.**

**"If we're taking the zoo express," Grover said, "we need to hurry."**

**I didn't like it, but we had no better option. Besides, I'd seen enough of Denver.**

**We ran across the street and climbed in the back of the big rig, closing the doors behind us.**

**The first thing that hit me was the smell. It was like the world's biggest pan of kitty litter.**

Everyone wrinkled their noses.

**The trailer was dark inside until I uncapped Anaklusmos. The blade cast a faint bronze light over a very sad scene. Sitting in a row of filthy metal cages were three of the most pathetic zoo animals I'd ever beheld: a zebra, a male albino lion, and some weird antelope thing I didn't know the name for.**

Artemis raised an eyebrow. "Why would he think they're pathetic?"

Annabeth frowned. "You'll see."

**Someone had thrown the lion a sack of turnips, which he obviously didn't want to eat. The zebra and the antelope had each gotten a Styrofoam tray of hamburger meat. The zebra's mane was matted with chewing gum, like somebody had been spitting on it in their spare time. The antelope had a stupid silver birthday balloon tied to one of his horns that read OVER THE HILL!**

Apollo and Hermes had to hold down Artemis so she wouldn't hurt anyone although everyone there was probably ready to help Artemis beat up whoever did that to the animals.

**Apparently, nobody had wanted to get close enough to the lion to mess with him, but the poor thing was pacing around on soiled blankets, in a space way too small for him, panting from the stuffy heat of the trailer. He had flies buzzing around his pink eyes and his ribs showed through his white fur.**

Ares had to step in to help Apollo and Hermes.

**"This is kindness?" Grover yelled. "Humane zoo transport?"**

Almost everyone gritted their teeth.

**He probably would've gone right back outside to beat up the truckers with his reed pipes,**

Nico started laughing so hard that he fell over his seat.

Leo sighed along with Thalia. "And now," Leo said. "I'm guessing that were adding the mental image of Grover beating up truckers with reed pipes to your list?"

Nico managed to nod his head.

Connor smiled broadly. "Ooh! Ooh! I'll write the list." He took out his notebook and wrote down: The Crazy Thoughts of Nico di Angelo.

"I bet that if you made that into an actual book that it would make a lot of money." Piper said. "Probably make the top one hundreds of the New York Best sellers."

**and I would've helped him, **

Nico sighed contentedly. "I'm adding that to my bucket list. I'll do that one day."He leaned over to the demigods and whispered. "That means that we are under no circumstances, losing the war. I _will_ get to beat some inhumane truckers with reed pipes. Any help is welcome. (Yes, I'm talking to all of you who are reading this story.)"

**but just then the trucks engine roared to life, the trailer started shaking, and we were forced to sit down or fall down.**

"Awe… I wish they'd have time to beat up the truckers."

**We huddled in the corner on some mildewed feed sacks, trying to ignore the smell and the heat and the flies. Grover talked to the animals in a series of goat bleats, but they just stared at him sadly. Annabeth was in favor of breaking the cages and freeing them on the spot, but I pointed out it wouldn't do much good until the truck stopped moving. Besides, I had a feeling we might look a lot better to the lion than those turnips.**

Ares smiled in a daze and sighed. "Blood and gore. Can't remember the last time I saw that."

Hephaestus looked at him incredulously. "You saw that last week. Someone from your cabin almost accidently killed Nyssa."

Ares just ignored him and went on daydreaming leaving Apollo and Ares to hold down Artemis.

**I found a water jug and refilled their bowls, then used Anaklusmos to drag the mismatched food out of their cages. I gave the meat to the lion and the turnips to the zebra and the antelope.**

**Grover calmed the antelope down, while Annabeth used her knife to cut the balloon off his horn. She wanted to cut the gum out of the zebra's mane, too, but we decided that would be too risky with the truck bumping around. We told Grover to promise the animals we'd help them more in the morning, then we settled in for night.**

Artemis calmed down considerably after this so Apollo and Hermes went back to their seats while Ares sat down on the floor and fantasized Percy getting eaten by the lion.

**Grover curled up on a turnip sack; Annabeth opened our bag of Double Stuff Oreos and nibbled on one halfheartedly; I tried to cheer myself up by concentrating on the fact that we were halfway to Los Angeles. Halfway to our destination. It was only June fourteenth. The solstice wasn't until the twenty-first. We could make it in plenty of time.**

"And there he goes, jinxing the quest again." Katie said. "I bet you almost didn't make it huh?"

"Yeah." Annabeth sighed.

**On the other hand, I had no idea what to expect next. The gods kept toying with me. At least Hephaestus had the decency to be honest about it—he'd put up cameras and advertised me as entertainment. **

Ares shook his head. "How is that honest?"

His reply was, "You can't really change live TV."

**But even when the cameras weren't rolling, I had a feeling my quest was being watched. I was a source of amusement for the gods.**

Connor looked alarmed. "Whoa. Stalker alert."

Rachel nodded. "Do you always do that?"

Ares raised his head up high. "We have better things to do then to watch children." When he realized what he said, his eyes bugged out and he started sputtering apologies while the rest of the deities glared at him.

The demigods smiled. It was nice to see their parents stick up for them.

**"Hey," Annabeth said, "I'm sorry for freaking out back at the water park, Percy."**

"That was hilarious." Connor said. Travis agreed. They were going to reenact the scene but then they saw two pairs of grey eyes glaring at them and decided to wait for Demeter to carry on.

**"That's okay."**

**"It's just..." She shuddered. "Spiders."**

**"Because of the Arachne story," I guessed. "She got turned into a spider for challenging your mom to a weaving contest, right?"**

**Annabeth nodded. "Arachne's children have been taking revenge on the children of Athena ever since. If there's a spider within a mile of me, it'll find me. **

Piper frowned. "And I thought monsters were bad."

**I hate the creepy little things. Anyway, I owe you."**

**"We're a team, remember?" I said. "Besides, Grover did the fancy flying."**

**I thought he was asleep, but he mumbled from the corner, "I was pretty amazing, wasn't I?"**

**Annabeth and I laughed.**

**She pulled apart an Oreo, handed me half. **

Chris licked his lips. "I'm getting hungry just hearing that."

**"In the Iris message ... did Luke really say nothing?"**

**I munched my cookie and thought about how to answer. The conversation via rainbow had bothered me all evening. "Luke said you and he go way back. He also said Grover wouldn't fail this time. Nobody would turn into a pine tree."**

Thalia face-palmed.

**In the dim bronze light of the sword blade, it was hard to read their expressions.**

**Grover let out a mournful bray.**

**"I should've told you the truth from the beginning." His voice trembled. "I thought if you knew what a failure I was, you wouldn't want me along."**

**"You were the satyr who tried to rescue Thalia, the daughter of Zeus."**

Thalia sighed.

**He nodded glumly.**

**"And the other two half-bloods Thalia befriended, the ones who got safely to camp ..." I looked at Annabeth. "That was you and Luke, wasn't it?"**

**She put down her Oreo, uneaten. "Like you said, Percy, a seven-year-old half-blood wouldn't have made it very far alone. Athena guided me toward help. Thalia was twelve. Luke was fourteen. They'd both run away from home, like me. They were happy to take me with them. They were ... amazing monster-fighters, even without training. We traveled north from Virginia without any real plans, fending off monsters for about two weeks before Grover found us."**

Piper listened intently to the story. She was finally finding out about Annabeth's history.

**"I was supposed to escort Thalia to camp," he said, sniffling. "Only Thalia. I had strict orders from Chiron: don't do anything that would slow down the rescue. We knew Hades was after her, see, but I couldn't just leave Luke and Annabeth by themselves.**

**I thought ... I thought I could lead all three of them to safety. It was my fault the Kindly Ones caught up with us. I froze. I got scared on the way back to camp and took some wrong turns. If I'd just been a little quicker …"**

Zeus' mood became worse with every word.

**"Stop it," Annabeth said. "No one blames you. Thalia didn't blame you either."**

Thalia nodded in approval.

**"She sacrificed herself to save us," he said miserably, "Her death was my fault. The Council of Cloven Elders said so."**

Thalia frowned. "The Council of Cloven Elders are stupid. They're the most stuck up, ungrateful, fat, greasy…"

While Thalia when on with her rant Clarisse said, "To sum it up, they're a bunch of jerks who could probably do better in Tartarus. In this time period anyways. In our time period, not so much. Not all of them."

Dionysus pondered this. "I should change them shouldn't I? I know a few satyrs that would do for a job. Leneus… yes he could replace the old one…"

**"Because you wouldn't leave two other half-bloods behind?" I said. "That's not fair."**

Zeus huffed.

**"Percy's right," Annabeth said. "I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for you, Grover. Neither would Luke. We don't care what the council says."**

"Me neither."

**Grover kept sniffling in the dark. "It's just my luck. I'm the lamest satyr ever, and I find the two most powerful half-bloods of the century, Thalia and Percy."**

Nico pouted. "Don't forget me and Bianca. I'm powerful too you know?"

In response Hades patted Nico's head.

**"You're not lame," Annabeth insisted. "You've got more courage than any satyr I've ever met. Name one other who would dare go to the Underworld. I bet Percy is really glad you're here right now."**

**She kicked me in the shin.**

Everyone except Poseidon cracked a smile.

**"Yeah," I said, which I would've done even without the kick.**

"Oh." Annabeth's face heated up.

**"It's not luck that you found Thalia and me, Grover. You've got the biggest heart of any satyr ever. You're a natural searcher. That's why you'll be the one who finds Pan."**

All the demigods except for Piper, Leo, and Jason shook their heads disbelievingly.

**I heard a deep, satisfied sigh. I waited for Grover to say something, but his breathing only got heavier. When the sound turned to snoring, I realized he'd fallen sleep.**

**"How does he do that?" I marveled.**

"We'll never know." Nico said. For once, he didn't have an answer.

**"I don't know," Annabeth said. **

"Yes!" Nico said. "You don't know something!" Then he got really quiet. "Wow… the end of the world really is coming."

"That's an understatement." Hermes said. He thought that Nico was just playing around about the end of the world so he went along with him.

**"But that was really a nice thing you told him."**

**"I meant it."**

**We rode in silence for a few miles, bumping around on the feed sacks. The zebra munched a turnip. The lion licked the last of the hamburger meat off his lips and looked at me hopefully.**

"Or hungrily." Ares said. He received several glares from across the room.

**Annabeth rubbed her necklace like she was thinking deep, strategic thoughts.**

Everyone snorted at that possibility.

**"That pine-tree bead," I said. "Is that from your first year?"**

**She looked. She hadn't realized what she was doing.**

**"Yeah," she said. "Every August, the counselors pick the most important event of the summer, and they paint it on that year's beads. I've got Thalia's pine tree, a Greek trireme on fire, a centaur in a prom dress—now _that _was a weird summer..."**

"What?" Almost everyone yelled.

"The party ponies." Clarisse answered, remembering that summer.

**"And the college ring is your father's?"**

**"That's none of your—" She stopped herself. "Yeah. Yeah, it is."**

**"You don't have to tell me."**

**"No ... it's okay." She took a shaky breath. "My dad sent it to me folded up in a letter, two summers ago. The ring was, like, his main keepsake from Athena. He wouldn't have gotten through his doctoral program at Harvard without her... That's a long story. **

Athena frowned. A _really_ long story.

**Anyway, he said he wanted me to have it. He apologized for being a jerk, said he loved me and missed me. He wanted me to come home and live with him."**

**"That doesn't sound so bad."**

**"Yeah, well... the problem was, I believed him. I tried to go home for that school year, but my stepmom was the same as ever. She didn't want her kids put in danger by living with a freak. Monsters attacked. We argued. Monsters attacked. We argued. I didn't even make it through winter break. I called Chiron and came right back to Camp Half-Blood."**

**"You think you'll ever try living with your dad again?"**

**She wouldn't meet my eyes. "Please. I'm not into self-inflicted pain."**

**"You shouldn't give up," I told her. "You should write him a letter or something."**

Athena nodded. For once the son of Poseidon was making sense.

**"Thanks for the advice," she said coldly, "but my father's made his choice about who he wants to live with."**

Everyone frowned.

**We passed another few miles of silence.**

"Awkward."

**"So if the gods fight," I said, "will things line up the way they did with the Trojan War? Will it be Athena versus Poseidon?"**

**She put her head against the backpack Ares had given us, **

Annabeth frowned. If that lightning bolt had been in there while she was sleeping on it she would've ended up like Hera in the morning, except she would've been dead.

**and closed her eyes. "I don't know what my mom will do. I just know I'll fight next to you."**

Aphrodite smiled brilliantly while Athena became resigned to the fact that Annabeth deeply cared for Percy.

**"Why?"**

**"Because you're my friend, Seaweed Brain. Any more stupid questions?"**

"Hopefully not."

**I couldn't think of an answer for that. Fortunately I didn't have to. Annabeth was asleep.**

**I had trouble following her example, with Grover snoring and an albino lion staring hungrily at me, **

"See?" Ares said. "Even your son agrees with me Poseidon."

Poseidon lessened the glare he was giving Ares.

**but eventually I closed my eyes.**

**My nightmare started out as something I'd dreamed a million times before: I was being forced to take a standardized test while wearing a straitjacket.**

Thalia frowned. "I hate that dream."

Everyone looked at her incredulously.

"Oh don't act like you haven't had it before."

**All the other kids were going out to recess, and the teacher kept saying, _Come on, Percy. You're not stupid, are you? Pick up your pencil._**

**Then the dream strayed from the usual.**

Aphrodite knit her eyebrows. "How is that usual in the first place?"

No one had an answer to that.

**I looked over at the next desk and saw a girl sitting there, also wearing a straitjacket. She was my age, with unruly black, punk-style hair, dark eyeliner around her stormy green eyes, and freckles across her nose. **

Everyone looked at Thalia.

"Wow." Athena said. "The only things he didn't get was your eye color."

**Somehow, I knew who she was. She was Thalia, daughter of Zeus.**

**She struggled against the straitjacket, glared at me in frustration,** **and snapped, _Well, Seaweed Brain? One of us has to get out of here._**

"That sounds exactly like what you would do." Annabeth said.

Thalia shrugged. She would've said a word or two like that.

**She's right, my dream-self thought. I'm going back to that cavern. I'm going to give Hades a piece of my mind.**

Hades frowned. "Wow. He's literally going to give me a piece of his mind. You know… since he's dreaming."

Everyone rolled their eyes at him.

**The straitjacket melted off me. I fell through the class room floor. The teacher's voice changed until it was cold and evil, echoing from the depths of a great chasm.**

A wave of dread settled over the room.

**_Percy Jackson, _****it said. _Yes, the exchange went well, I see._**

"Exchange?"

**I was back in the dark cavern, spirits of the dead drifting around me. Unseen in the pit, the monstrous thing was speaking, but this time it wasn't addressing me. The numbing power of its voice seemed directed somewhere else.**

"It's not like that's any better." Thalia grumbled. "Just hearing it is bad."

**_And he suspects nothing? _****it asked.**

**Another voice, one I almost recognized, answered at my shoulder. _Nothing, my lord. He is as ignorant as the rest._**

**I looked over, but no one was there. The speaker was invisible.**

**_Deception upon deception, _****the thing in the pit mused aloud. _Excellent._**

**_Truly, my lord, _****said the voice next to me, _you are well-named the Crooked One. _**

The deities gasped and all the color left their faces. Demeter dropped the book so Katie picked it up to continue reading.

**_But was it really necessary? I could have brought you what I stole directly_**—

Zeus gained some of his senses and began to worry about his master bolt again.

**_You? _****the monster said in scorn. _You have already shown your limits. You would have failed me completely had I not intervened._**

**_But, my lord_**—

**_Peace, little servant. Our six months have bought us much. Zeus's anger has grown. Poseidon has played his most desperate card. Now we shall use it against him. Shortly you shall have the reward you wish, and your revenge. As soon as both items are delivered into my hands_**

Athena snapped out of her terror for a second. "_Both items?_"

**_... but wait. He is here._**

Poseidon whimpered under his blanket.

**_What? _****The invisible servant suddenly sounded tense. _You summoned him, my lord?_**

**_No. _****The full force of the monsters attention was now pouring over me, freezing me in place. **

Thalia shivered. She'd had a lot of dreams like that.

**_Blast his father's blood_**—**_he is too changeable, too unpredictable. _**

"That's an understatement." Rachel muttered. All the demigods except for Jason, Piper, and Leo nodded.

"How do you think he appeared there?" Nico asked. "Like… do you think he appeared there as a rooster or a crocodile or a dolphin…?"

Annabeth furrowed her eyebrows. "That makes no sense. Why would he appear there as any of those animals?"

"Because the Crooked One said that he was too changeable so he probably appeared there as a banana." Connor said. "What? Why are you all staring at me like that? What I said made perfect sense. Stop looking…"

Demeter took the book out of Katie's hand. "I'll keep reading."

**_The boy brought himself hither._**

**_Impossible! _****the servant cried.**

**_For a weakling such as you, perhaps, _****the voice snarled. Then it's cold power turned back on me. _So... you wish to dream of your quest, young half-blood? Then I will oblige._**

**The scene changed.**

Connor frowned. "He's probably dreaming about him being in a strait-jacket again."

**I was standing in a vast throne room with black marble walls and bronze floors. **

"Never mind."

**The empty, horrid throne was made from human bones fused together. **

Hades raised his eyebrows at the mention of his throne.

**Standing at the foot of the dais was my mother, frozen in shimmering golden light, her arms outstretched.**

Everyone frowned. Poseidon grimaced under his blanket.

**I tried to step toward her, but my legs wouldn't move. I reached for her, only to realize that my hands were withering to bones. Grinning skeletons in Greek armor crowded around me, draping me with silk robes, wreathing my head with laurels that smoked with Chimera poison, burning into my scalp.**

Nico gaped at the book along with Hades. "That's worst than the fields of punishment!"

"Yeah." Hades said. "And there are some bad things going on there."

**The evil voice began to laugh. _Hail, the conquering hero!_**

**I woke with a start.**

**Grover was shaking my shoulder. "The trucks stopped," he said. "We think they're coming to check on the animals."**

**"Hide!" Annabeth hissed.**

**She had it easy. She just put on her magic cap and disappeared.**

Annabeth shrugged. It's not her fault that they don't have magical hats that make them disappear.

**Grover and I had to dive behind feed sacks and hope we looked like turnips.**

"Okay, even I have to admit that that sounds ridiculous." Nico said.

"Who looks like a turnip?" Leo said.

Chris shrugged. "I could name a few people who could possibly resemble a turnip."

No one questioned him.

**The trailer doors creaked open. Sunlight and heat poured in.**

**"Man!" one of the truckers said, waving his hand in front of his ugly nose. "I wish I hauled appliances." He climbed inside and poured some water from a jug into the animals' dishes.**

**"You hot, big boy?" he asked the lion, then splashed the rest of the bucket right in the lion's face.**

**The lion roared in indignation.**

Artemis looked like she wanted to rip someone's head off. _Who knew the goddess of the hunt could be so violent?... That was a stupid comment. Just ignore it._

**"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the man said.**

**Next to me, under the turnip sacks, Grover tensed. For a peace-loving herbivore, he looked downright murderous.**

So did Artemis.

**The trucker threw the antelope a squashed-looking Happy Meal bag. He smirked at the zebra. "How ya doin', Stripes? Least we'll be getting rid of _you _this stop. You like magic shows? You're gonna love this one. They're gonna saw you in half!"**

Let's stay up in the sky for awhile. You know look at the clouds, the birds… because I cannot find words to describe what's going on down on Olympus. If I did… I'd probably have to change the rating of this story or I'd be so embarrassed by my thoughts that I wouldn't write again. Just know it's really bad. _That's an understatement._

Right about this point of time… if you look outside, I'll guarantee you that the moon is out and is shining brighter than the sun in the sky. (If you're reading this during the day… if you're not, then the sun is outside with the moon.)

**The zebra, wild-eyed with fear, looked straight at me.**

**There was no sound, but as clear as day, I heard it say: _Free me, lord. Please._**

Everyone who didn't know that Percy could talk to horses gaped at the book.

**I was too stunned to react.**

**There was a loud _knock, knock, knock _on the side of the trailer.**

**The trucker inside with us yelled, "What do you want, Eddie?"**

**A voice outside—it must've been Eddie's—shouted back, "Maurice? What'd ya say?"**

**"What are you banging for?"**

**_Knock, knock, knock._**

**Outside, Eddie yelled, "What banging?"**

Athena smirked. She realized what Annabeth was doing.

**Our guy Maurice rolled his eyes and went back outside, cursing at Eddie for being an idiot.**

**A second later, Annabeth appeared next to me. She must've done the banging to get Maurice out of the trailer. She said, "This transport business can't be legal."**

**"No kidding," Grover said. He paused, as if listening. "The lion says these guys are animal smugglers!"**

_Damn right! _I'll let you guess who thought that.

**_That's right, _****the zebra's voice said in my mind.**

**"We've got to free them!" Grover said. He and Annabeth both looked at me, waiting for my lead.**

**I'd heard the zebra talk, but not the lion. Why? Maybe it was another learning disability ... I could only understand zebras? Then I thought: horses. What had Annabeth said about Poseidon creating horses? Was a zebra close enough to a horse? Was that why I could understand it?**

"Yes." Poseidon muttered.

**The zebra said, _Open my cage, lord. Please. I'll be fine after that._**

Artemis nodded furiously.

**Outside, Eddie and Maurice were still yelling at each other, but I knew they'd be coming inside to torment the animals again any minute. I grabbed Riptide and slashed the lock off the zebra's cage.**

**The zebra burst out. It turned to me and bowed. _Thank you, lord._**

**Grover held up his hands and said something to the zebra in goat talk, like a blessing.**

**Just as Maurice was poking his head back inside to check out the noise, the zebra leaped over him and into the street. **

Artemis smiled brilliantly. "Your son's not that bad Poseidon."

Poseidon controlled the urge not to roll his eyes at her. They all knew that she was only saying that because Percy let the zebra go.

**There was yelling and screaming and cars honking. We rushed to the doors of the trailer in time to see the zebra galloping down a wide boulevard lined with hotels and casinos and neon signs. We'd just released a zebra in Las Vegas.**

Leo smirked. "The title."

**Maurice and Eddie ran after it, with a few policemen running after them, shouting, "Hey! You need a permit for that!"**

**"Now would be a good time to leave," Annabeth said.**

**"The other animals first," Grover said.**

**I cut the locks with my sword. Grover raised his hands and spoke the same goat-blessing he'd used for the zebra.**

**"Good luck," I told the animals. The antelope and the lion burst out of their cages and went off together into the streets.**

Rachel knit her eyebrows. "Isn't that supposed to be the other way around?"

"It's the blessing." Dionysus muttered. He was barely paying attention because he was on his laptop. Hephaestus had managed to finish fixing it during the time that they were reading. (Poseidon had short-circuited it with water in the earlier chapters.)

**Some tourists screamed. Most just backed off and took pictures, probably thinking it was some kind of stunt by one of the casinos.**

Hermes shook his head. _Ignorant mortals…_

**"Will the animals be okay?" I asked Grover. "I mean, the desert and all—"**

**"Don't worry," he said. "I placed a satyr's sanctuary on them."**

**"Meaning?"**

**"Meaning they'll reach the wild safely," he said. "They'll find water, food, shade, whatever they need until they find a safe place to live."**

**"Why can't you place a blessing like that on us?" I asked.**

**"It only works on wild animals."**

**"So it would only affect Percy," Annabeth reasoned.**

"Hey!" Poseidon yelled. Everyone else was laughing at the comment. Especially Athena.

**"Hey!" I protested.**

**"Kidding," she said. **

_I'm not. _Athena thought.

**"Come on. Let's get out of this filthy truck."**

**We stumbled out into the desert afternoon. It was a hundred and ten degrees, easy, and we must've looked like deep-fried vagrants, but everybody was too interested in the wild animals to pay us much attention.**

**We passed the Monte Carlo and the MGM. We passed pyramids, a pirate ship, and the Statue of Liberty, which was a pretty small replica, but still made me homesick.**

**I wasn't sure what we were looking for. Maybe just a place to get out of the heat for a few minutes, find a sandwich and a glass of lemonade, make a new plan for getting west.**

**We must have taken a wrong turn, because we found ourselves at a dead end, standing in front of the Lotus Hotel and Casino.**

Nico, Thalia, and Annabeth shivered remembering that place.

Poseidon became alarmed, he threw off his blanket and frowned at the name of the restaurant that he heard.

**The entrance was a huge neon flower, the petals lighting up and blinking. No one was going in or out, but the glittering chrome doors were open, spilling out air-conditioning that smelled like flowers—lotus blossom, maybe. I'd never smelled one, so I wasn't sure.**

Demeter went off into her own little world. She would ask Persephone about the lotus blossom later.

**The doorman smiled at us. "Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?"**

_No. _Poseidon thought.

**I'd learned to be suspicious, the last week or so. I figured anybody might be a monster or a god. You just couldn't tell. But this guy was normal. One look at him, and I could see. Besides, I was so relieved to hear somebody who sounded sympathetic that I nodded and said we'd love to come in.**

"And that's how they reel you in." Poseidon grimaced.

Artemis shook her head. _Another_ relation to the sea.

**Inside, we took one look around, and Grover said, "Whoa."**

**The whole lobby was a giant game room. And I'm not talking about cheesy old Pac-Man games or slot machines. There was an indoor waterslide snaking around the glass elevator, which went straight up at least forty floors. There was a climbing wall on the side of one building, and an indoor bungee-jumping bridge. There were virtual-reality suits with working laser guns. And hundreds of video games, each one the size of a widescreen TV. Basically, you name it, this place had it_. _There were a few other kids playing, but not that many. No waiting for any of the games. There were waitresses and snack bars all around, serving every kind of food you can imagine.**

Connor and Travis were on the brink of drooling.

**"Hey!" a bellhop said. At least I guessed he was a bellhop. He wore a white-and-yellow Hawaiian shirt with lotus designs, shorts, and flip-flops. "Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Here's your room key."**

Several people looked at the book confused.

**I stammered, "Um, but..."**

**"No, no," he said, laughing. "The bill's taken care of. No extra charges, no tips. Just go on up to the top floor, room 4001. If you need anything, like extra bubbles for the hot tub, or skeet targets for the shooting range, or whatever, just call the front desk. Here are your Lotus Cash cards. They work in the restaurants and on all the games and rides."**

Connor fainted.

"I want to go there." Travis said.

"No you don't!" Annabeth, Nico, and Thalia chorused.

**He handed us each a green plastic credit card.**

**I knew there must be some mistake. Obviously he thought we were some millionaire's kids. But I took the card and said, "How much is on here?"**

**His eyebrows knit together. "What do you mean?"**

**"I mean, when does it run out of cash?"**

**He laughed. "Oh, you're making a joke. Hey, that's cool. Enjoy your stay."**

Everyone raised their eyebrows at Annabeth.

**We took the elevator upstairs and checked out our room. It was a suite with three separate bedrooms and a bar stocked with candy, sodas, and chips. A hotline to room service. Fluffy towels and water beds with feather pillows. A big-screen television with satellite and high-speed Internet. The balcony had its own hot tub, and sure enough, there was a skeet-shooting machine and a shotgun, so you could launch clay pigeons right out over the Las Vegas skyline and plug them with your gun. I didn't see how that could be legal, but I thought it was pretty cool. The view over the Strip and the desert was amazing, though I doubted we'd ever find time to look at the view with a room like this.**

Now Travis fainted.

**"Oh, goodness," Annabeth said. "This place is ..."**

**"Sweet," Grover said. "Absolutely sweet."**

**There were clothes in the closet, and they fit me. I frowned, thinking that this was a little strange.**

Hades frowned. "A _little_ strange? It's not a coincidence."

**I threw Ares' backpack in the trash can. Wouldn't need that anymore. When we left, I could just charge a new one at the hotel store.**

**I took a shower, which felt awesome after a week of grimy travel. I changed clothes, ate a bag of chips, drank three Cokes, and came out feeling better than I had in a long time. In the back of my mind, some small problem kept nagging me. I'd had a dream or something ... I needed to talk to my friends. But I was sure it could wait.**

Now almost everyone was at the brink of their seats.

**I came out of the bedroom and found that Annabeth and Grover had also showered and changed clothes. Grover was eating potato chips to his heart's content, while Annabeth cranked up the National Geographic Channel.**

Poseidon looked at Annabeth incredulously. "Are you insane? The National Geographic Channel? Seriously?"

In response Annabeth rolled her eyes.

**"All those stations," I told her, "and you turn on National Geographic. Are you insane?"**

The deities shook their heads at Poseidon.

**"It's interesting."**

**"I feel good," Grover said. "I love this place."**

**Without his even realizing it, the wings sprouted out of his shoes and lifted him a foot off the ground, then back down again.**

"Wow."

**"So what now?" Annabeth asked. "Sleep?"**

**Grover and I looked at each other and grinned. We both held up our green plastic Lotus Cash cards.**

**"Play time," I said.**

Connor smiled in his sleep.

**I couldn't remember the last time I had so much fun. I came from a relatively poor family. Our idea of a splurge was eating out at Burger King and renting a video. A five-star Vegas hotel? Forget it.**

Piper and Rachel frowned. At least Percy got to hang out with his family a lot.

**I bungee-jumped the lobby five or six times, did the waterslide, snowboarded the artificial ski slope, and played virtual-reality laser tag and FBI sharpshooter. I saw Grover a few times, going from game to game. He really liked the reverse hunter thing—where the deer go out and shoot the rednecks.**

Hermes smiled. "Artemis looks like she would like to do that."

Everyone heard the smack! that landed on Hermes' head along with the yelp that followed soon after.

**I saw Annabeth playing trivia games and other brainiac stuff. They had this huge 3-D Sim game where you build your own city, and you could actually see the holographic buildings rise on the display board. I didn't think much of it, but Annabeth loved it.**

"Of course she would."

**I'm not sure when I first realized something was wrong.**

Poseidon sighed in relief.

**Probably, it was when I noticed the guy standing next to me at VR sharpshooters. He was about thirteen, I guess, but his clothes were weird. I thought he was some Elvis impersonator's son. He wore bell-bottom jeans and a red T-shirt with black piping, and his hair was permed and gelled like a New Jersey girl's on homecoming night.**

Connor and Travis- who had woken up awhile ago- lay on the floor laughing hysterically. Nico knit his eyebrows. "Where do I know him from? I know him from somewhere… Darrin?"

**We played a game of sharpshooters together and he said, "Groovy, man.**

"Groovy?"

**Been here two weeks, and the games keep getting better and better."**

**_Groovy?_**

"That's what we want to know."

**Later, while we were talking, I said something was "sick," and he looked at me kind of startled, as if he'd never heard the word used that way before.**

**He said his name was Darrin,**

"I knew it." Nico said. "I used to play with him when I was little."

Everyone who didn't know about Nico being in the Lotus Hotel and Casino looked at him weird.

**but as soon as I started asking him questions he got bored with me and started to go back to the computer screen.**

**I said, "Hey, Darrin?"**

**"What?"**

**"What year is it?"**

**He frowned at me. "In the game?"**

**"No. In real life."**

**He had to think about it. "1977."**

"What?"

"Is this guy okay?" Connor asked.

"Apparently not." Thalia said.

"It's the casino." Annabeth said. "It stops you from aging but the time in the outside world keeps going."

Thalia frowned. Being in that tree and kept from aging was not the best feeling in the world.

**"No," I said, getting a little scared. "Really."**

**"Hey, man. Bad vibes. I got a game happening."**

**After that he totally ignored me.**

**I started talking to people, and I found it wasn't easy. They were glued to the TV screen, or the video game, or their food, or whatever. I found a guy who told me it was 1985. Another guy told me it was 1993. They all claimed they hadn't been in here very long, a few days, a few weeks at most. They didn't really know and they didn't care.**

Several jaws were hanging open.

**Then it occurred to me: how long had I been here? It seemed like only a couple of hours, but was it?**

"No."

**I tried to remember why we were here. We were going to Los Angeles. We were supposed to find the entrance to the Underworld. My mother ... for a scary second, I had trouble remembering her name. Sally. Sally Jackson. I had to find her. I had to stop Hades from causing World War III.**

"It's enchanted just like Medusa's place." Leo muttered.

**I found Annabeth still building her city.**

**"Come on," I told her. "We've got to get out of here."**

Athena nodded.

**No response.**

**I shook her. "Annabeth?"**

**She looked up, annoyed. "What?**

**"We need to leave."**

**"Leave? What are you talking about? I've just got the towers—"**

**"This place is a trap."**

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Straight to the point."

**She didn't respond until I shook her again. "What?"**

**"Listen. The Underworld. Our quest!"**

**"Oh, come on, Percy. Just a few more minutes."**

Athena shook her head. Just a few more minutes and they could be spending eternity there.

**"Annabeth, there are people here from 1977. Kids who have never aged. You check in, and you stay forever."**

"You know…" Connor started. "That statement would've sounded really creepy if the place wasn't so much fun or sounded like it was so much fun."

Travis nodded. "It reminds me of a scary movie. It sounds a lot like the game room, except there you can actually leave when you want."

**"So?" she asked. "Can you imagine a better place?"**

"No."

**I grabbed her wrist and yanked her away from the game.**

**"Hey!" She screamed and hit me, but nobody else even bothered looking at us. They were too busy.**

**I made her look directly in my eyes. I said, "Spiders. Large, hairy spiders."**

Almost everyone smirked. That would jar her memory.

**That jarred her. Her vision cleared. "Oh my gods," she said. "How long have we—"**

**"I don't know, but we've got to find Grover."**

**We went searching, and found him still playing Virtual Deer Hunter.**

Hermes smiled. "I like that game. Maybe I'll go there and hijack it."

**"Grover!" we both shouted.**

**He said, "Die, human! Die, silly polluting nasty person!"**

Travis doubled over laughing at that statement. Artemis smiled. It was just like a satyr to think like that.

**"Grover!"**

**He turned the plastic gun on me and started clicking, as if I were just another image from the screen.**

Thalia shook her head along with the rest of the demigods.

**I looked at Annabeth, and together we took Grover by the arms and dragged him away. His flying shoes sprang to life and started tugging his legs in the other direction as he shouted, "No! I just got to a new level! No!"**

Dionysus frowned. "I know exactly how he feels. It happens all the time whenever I play Pac-Man."

Leo frowned. "Isn't that a prehistoric game?"

All the deities except for Dionysus groaned. "Oh no. Thanks a lot Leo."

Dionysus' face turned red then purple. "I'll have you know young man that Pac-Man is _not_ a prehistoric game. It is a game created with-"

"Wait." Hermes said. "Let me finish your speech."

He took out a tape recorder and rewound the tape. When he pressed play Dionysus' voice echoed through the room.

"ingenuity and style. It is probably the basis for all video games, the starting foundation and principles for them. I'll also have you know that I influenced the person who created it. It is on a far more superior scale than any video games you have played or will ever play."

Dionysus looked at Hermes with a confused look on his face.

Hermes shrugged. "You've said that speech so many times that I decided to record it." Hermes turned to Leo, who had an astonished look on his face. "And I hope you learned not to diss Pac-Man. Not in front of or in a 3,000 mile range of Dionysus any ways."

**The Lotus bellhop hurried up to us. "Well, now, are you ready for your platinum cards?"**

"No!"

**"We're leaving," I told him.**

Poseidon nodded in approval.

**"Such a shame," he said, and I got the feeling that he really meant it, that we'd be breaking his heart if we went. "We just added an entire new floor full of games for platinum-card members."**

"Wow." Connor and Travis breathed.

**He held out the cards, and I wanted one. I knew that if I took one, I'd never leave. I'd stay here, happy forever, playing games forever, and soon I'd forget my mom, and my quest, and maybe even my own name. I'd be playing virtual rifleman with groovy Disco Darrin forever.**

**Grover reached for the card, but Annabeth yanked back his arm and said, "No, thanks."**

**We walked toward the door, and as we did, the smell of the food and the sounds of the games seemed to get more and more inviting. I thought about our room upstairs. We could just stay the night, sleep in a real bed for once...**

**Then we burst through the doors of the Lotus Casino and ran down the sidewalk. **

Athena, Dionysus, and Poseidon let out a breath of relief.

**It felt like afternoon, about the same time of day we'd gone into the casino, but something was wrong. The weather had completely changed. It was stormy, with heat lightning flashing out in the desert.**

**Ares' backpack was slung over my shoulder, which was odd, because I was sure I had thrown it in the trash can in room 4001, **

Athena knit her eyebrows.

**but at the moment I had other problems to worry about.**

**I ran to the nearest newspaper stand and read the year first. Thank the gods, it was the same year it had been when we went in. **

Everyone let out a breath they didn't know they were holding.

**Then I noticed the date: June twentieth. We had been in the Lotus Casino for five days.**

Gasps echoed through the room.

**We had only one day left until the summer solstice. One day to complete our quest.**

Zeus started to whimper a little. _Would he ever get his bolt back? He had better or else the dust bowl will repeat again._

Katie shook her head. "I knew he would jinx the quest."

* * *

><p><strong>Reviews would make me write better... :)<strong>

**Erudite19**


	20. Waterbeds

"**We Shop For Water Beds?" **Aphrodite read.

Leo shook his head. "These chapter titles just keep getting weirder and weirder."

**It was Annabeth's idea.**

"When is it never? Don't answer that Nico."

"Jeez Thalia, I wasn't going to answer it... maybe."

**She loaded us into the back of a Vegas taxi as if we actually had money, **

"You don't," Piper said. "What are you up to?"

Nico gasped. "She's probably going to do some Athena kid Jedi mind trick on him to make him drive them where ever they need to go."

Athena looked at him with a bewildered look on her face. "You watch too much Star Wars."

**and told the driver, "Los Angeles, please."**

**The cabbie chewed his cigar **

Aphrodite wrinkled her nose.

**and sized us up. "That's three hundred miles. For that, you gotta pay up front."**

**"You accept casino debit cards?" Annabeth asked.**

Athena's eyes lit up in realization at Annabeth's plan.

**He shrugged. "Some of 'em. Same as credit cards. I gotta swipe 'em through first."**

**Annabeth handed him her green LotusCash card.**

"Oh."

**He looked at it skeptically.**

**"Swipe it," Annabeth invited.**

**He did.**

"I wonder how much money will be on there." Travis said.

"Probably hundreds." Connor agreed.

"Thousands." Chris said.

"Millions." Leo said.

Annabeth shook her head. "You guys are way off."

**His meter machine started rattling. The lights flashed. Finally an infinity symbol came up next to the dollar sign.**

Several mouths gaped open at this. Suddenly Annabeth's chair was blocked off by a swarm of boys.

"What'd you do with the money?"

"You spent it all didn't you?"

"I've been your friend for a long time!"

"You don't have to give any thing to Percy! You can give it all to me!"

There was suddenly a collective gasp from the boys swarmed around on the floor and Annabeth felt like all the energy that she had was suddenly drained from her.

"Who uttered her boyfriend's name?" Travis whispered. He made sure he didn't say it loud enough so that the gods couldn't hear them. He looked around the room and his eyes settled on his guilty little brother who was doing his best not to look his brother in the eyes.

"Excuse my brother and I for a moment." Travis said. He dragged Connor outside while everyone sat down. Yelps and pleads of forgiveness could be heard from outside the door. When the two came back inside Connor looked unscathed and everyone sent him weird looks.

**The cigar fell out of the driver's mouth. **

"About time." Aphrodite mumbled.

**He looked back at us, his eyes wide. "Where to in Los Angeles... uh, Your Highness?"**

Everyone snorted.

**"The Santa Monica Pier." Annabeth sat up a little straighter. I could tell she liked the "Your Highness" thing.**

"Who wouldn't?"

**"Get us there fast, and you can keep the change."**

"No!" Moaning erupted from the boys on the floor. Some dramatic ones even started to cry.

**Maybe she shouldn't have told him that. **

Connor nodded. "I agree with Per-him." He made sure not to say Percy's name again.

**The cab's speedometer never dipped below ninety-five the whole way through the Mojave Desert.**

Ares snorted. He could drive way faster than that.

**On the road, we had plenty of time to talk. I told Annabeth and Grover about my latest dream, but the details got sketchier the more I tried to remember them. The Lotus Casino seemed to have short-circuited my memory.**

Athena rolled her eyes. "It does that by itself already. It doesn't need a casino to short-circuit it."

Poseidon glared at her. "Really? Must you really insult my son at a time like this?"

Hades looked at Poseidon with a raised eyebrow. "He's in a cab in the desert with friends that can keep him safe. What do you mean 'at a time like this'?"

Poseidon face-palmed. "You're not helping my point Hades."

**I couldn't recall what the invisible servant's voice had sounded like, though I was sure it was somebody I knew. The servant had called the monster in the pit something other than "my lord" ... some special name or title...**

The room got tense. Aphrodite swallowed tightly and then continued reading.

**"The Silent One?" Annabeth suggested. "The Rich One? Both of those are nicknames for Hades."**

Zeus snorted. "The silent one I understand but the rich one? Come on."

Hades glared at Zeus. "I'll have you know brother, that my kingdom is very rich alright? Don't hate 'cause you don't have that much money."

Zeus looked at Hades incredulously but before he could say anything Aphrodite kept reading.

**"Maybe ..." I said, though neither sounded quite right.**

**"That throne room sounds like Hades's," Grover said. "That's the way it's usually described."**

The demigods on the floor shivered. "Do all of you dream of my throne room?" Hades asked reluctantly. It seemed like they've all dreamt of it some time or the other.

When the demigods nodded Hades paled. _I swear, demigod dreams are just a way for demigods to stalk me._

**I shook my head. "Something's wrong. The throne room wasn't the main part of the dream. And that voice from the pit ... I don't know. It just didn't feel like a god's voice."**

**Annabeth's eyes widened.**

The gods paled. If Annabeth was surprised at the description of the dream then the person described must mean the Crooked One.

All of the energy drained out of Aphrodite. She wasn't surprised that this was happening. She didn't think that any of the gods were. They were all aware of the great stirring going on in Tartarus. They all knew that it was only a matter of time before something like this would happen. She just wished that it wouldn't happen so soon.

**"What?" I asked.**

**"Oh ... nothing. I was just—No, it **_**has **_**to be Hades. **

"Let's hope it is me." Hades grimaced. For once he didn't mind if he was getting blamed.

**Maybe he sent this thief, this invisible person, to get the master bolt, and something went wrong—"**

**"Like what?"**

**"I—I don't know," she said. "But if he stole Zeus's symbol of power from Olympus, and the gods were hunting him, I mean, a lot of things could go wrong. So this thief had to hide the bolt, or he lost it somehow. Anyway, he failed to bring it to Hades. That's what the voice said in your dream, right? The guy failed. That would explain what the Furies were searching for when they came after us on the bus. Maybe they thought we had retrieved the bolt."**

Apollo nodded. "Y-yeah that makes sense." His brow broke out into a nervous sweat.

Jason knit his eyebrows. "Are you okay Apollo?"

Apollo swallowed nervously and said, "Keep reading Aphrodite."

**I wasn't sure what was wrong with her. She looked pale.**

Everyone except for Piper and Leo looked pale. Jason looked pale because he had a distant memory of something like this occuring. He knew that this was a bad thing.

**"But if I'd already retrieved the bolt," I said, "why would I be traveling to the Underworld?"**

**"To threaten Hades," Grover suggested. "To bribe or blackmail him into getting your mom back."**

**I whistled. "You have evil thoughts for a goat."**

**"Why, thank you."**

Nico smiled proudly and wiped a tear from his eyes. "T-that's my goat!" His voice trembled and he started to cry a little more. "I-i'm s-so p-proud of h-him!"

Everyone looked at Nico with an incredulous look on their faces. "Read Aphrodite." Demeter muttered.

**"But the thing in the pit said it was waiting for **_**two **_**items," I said. "If the master bolt is one, what's the other?"**

Hades sat up with his eyes wide opened. The other gods glanced at him in alarm. _Was his helm stolen too or was Poseidon's trident what he was after?_

**Grover shook his head, clearly mystified.**

**Annabeth was looking at me as if she knew my next question, and was silently willing me not to ask it.**

"If only he actually didn't ask." Annabeth sighed.

**"You have an idea what might be in that pit, don't you?" I asked her. "I mean, if it isn't Hades?"**

**"Percy ... let's not talk about it. Because if it isn't Hades ... No. It has to be Hades."**

Hades nodded furiously.

**Wasteland rolled by. We passed a sign that said CALIFORNIA STATE LINE, 12 MILES.**

**I got the feeling I was missing one simple, critical piece of information. It was like when I stared at a common word I should know, but I couldn't make sense of it because one or two letters were floating around. The more I thought about my quest, the more I was sure that confronting Hades wasn't the real answer. There was something else going on, something even more dangerous.**

"Why doesn't your son just scare us all to Tartarus, Poseidon?" Zeus asked nervously.

"Will you stop that? It's not my fault that certain things are stirring!" Poseidon snapped.

An errie silence settled over the room so Aphrodite kept reading.

**The problem was: we were hurtling toward the Underworld at ninety-five miles an hour, betting that Hades had the master bolt. If we got there and found out we were wrong, we wouldn't have time to correct ourselves. The solstice deadline would pass and war would begin.**

Apollo groaned. "I agree with Zeus. Tartarus sounds like a much better place to be in right now."

He ignored the glare that the sea god sent towards him.

**"The answer is in the Underworld," Annabeth assured me.**

"Or you're just assuring your self." Clarisse stated. "Happens to me all the time."

**"You saw spirits of the dead, Percy. There's only one place that could be. **

"Two places." Hades whispered, but the room was deadly silent so everyone heard him.

**We're doing the right thing."**

**She tried to boost our morale by suggesting clever strategies for getting into the Land of the Dead, but my heart wasn't in it. There were just too many unknown factors. It was like cramming for a test without knowing the subject. And believe me, I'd done **_**that **_**enough times.**

Some of the demigods nodded. They'd done that enough times as well.

**The cab sped west. Every gust of wind through Death Valley sounded like a spirit of the dead. Every time the brakes hissed on an eighteen-wheeler, it reminded me of Echidna's reptilian voice.**

Nico frowned. _Such morbid thoughts. It's like the book is preparing you for danger._

**At sunset, the taxi dropped us at the beach in Santa Monica. It looked exactly the way L.A. beaches do in the movies, only it smelled worse.**

Hades scowled. It always smelled worse.

**There were carnival rides lining the Pier, palm trees lining the sidewalks, homeless guys sleeping in the sand dunes, and surfer dudes waiting for the perfect wave.**

**Grover, Annabeth, and I walked down to the edge of the surf.**

**"What now?" Annabeth asked.**

**The Pacific was turning gold in the setting sun. I thought about how long it had been since I'd stood on the beach at Montauk, on the opposite side of the country, looking out at a different sea.**

**How could there be a god who could control all that? What did my science teacher use to say—two-thirds of the earth's surface was covered in water? **

Athena rolled her eyes. Of course Percy would pay attention if his science teacher said something like that.

**How could I be the son of someone that powerful?**

Ares grinned devilishly. "You see... when two people get together and one is a god and the other is a mortal-"

Everyone started groaning. "Read Aphrodite!"

**I stepped into the surf.**

**"Percy?" Annabeth said. "What are you doing?"**

**I kept walking, up to my waist, then my chest.**

**She called after me, "You know how polluted that water is? There're all kinds of toxic—"**

**That's when my head went under.**

The male gods chuckled. "That's one way to get away from a woman." Hermes smiled.

Apollo nodded. "I bet Poseidon does that all the time. That's probably why the beach babes are always drowning theirselves."

Poseidon rolled his eyes to the comments. He was about to say something but then Apollo and Hermes were smacked on the head with a couple of stilettos so he decided that it was probably best to keep quiet.

**I held my breath at first. It's difficult to intentionally inhale water. Finally I couldn't stand it anymore. I gasped. Sure enough, I could breathe normally.**

**I walked down into the shoals. I shouldn't have been able to see through the murk, but somehow I could tell where everything was. I could sense the rolling texture of the bottom. I could make out sand-dollar colonies dotting the sandbars. I could even see the currents, warm and cold streams swirling together.**

"Wow." Connor breathed.

Travis turned to him. "You're fascinated by all of that? All he has is underwater vision."

"No." Connor looked at him like he was weird. "I just remembered that I had a coupon for the grocery store down the street from our house. We could get Orange Juice."

Travis shook his head. "What's wrong with you and orange juice?"

"It's the life juice."

"That's water."

"So? What's your point?"

**I felt something rub against my leg. I looked down and almost shot out of the water like a ballistic missile. Sliding along beside me was a five-foot-long mako shark.**

"Whoa."

**But the thing wasn't attacking. It was nuzzling me. Heeling like a dog.**

"Now _that's_ cool!" Nico said. He was so excited that he looked like ten year old Nico. Before he became goth and emo obsessed.

**Tentatively, I touched its dorsal fin. It bucked a little, as if inviting me to hold tighter. I grabbed the fin with both hands. It took off, pulling me along. The shark carried me down into the darkness. It deposited me at the edge of the ocean proper, where the sand bank dropped off into a huge chasm. It was like standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon at midnight, not being able to see much, but knowing the void was right there.**

Piper, Leo, and Jason shivered remembering the Grand Canyon.

**The surface shimmered maybe a hundred and fifty feet above. I knew I should've been crushed by the pressure. Then again, I shouldn't have been able to breathe. I wondered if there was a limit to how deep I could go, if I could sink straight to the bottom of the Pacific.**

Poseidon nodded.

**Then I saw something glimmering in the darkness below, growing bigger and brighter as it rose toward me. A woman's voice, like my mother's, called: "Percy Jackson."**

"That is so sad." Thalia said. "Why does the woman have to sound like his mom?"

When everyone turned to Poseidon he shrugged. He didn't know which of the nereids he sent but he probably sent that one to comfort Percy.

**As she got closer, her shape became clearer. She had flowing black hair, a dress made of green silk. Light flickered around her, and her eyes were so distractingly beautiful I hardly noticed the stallion-sized sea horse she was riding.** **She dismounted. The sea horse and the mako shark whisked off and started playing something that looked like tag.**

Artemis raised her eyebrows. Sea creatures were so playful. Just like Poseidon's laid back attitude.

**The underwater lady smiled at me. "You've come far, Percy Jackson. Well done."**

**I wasn't quite sure what to do, so I bowed. "You're the woman who spoke to me in the Mississippi River."**

**"Yes, child. I am a Nereid, a spirit of the sea. It was not easy to appear so far upriver, but the naiads, my freshwater cousins, helped sustain my life force. They honor Lord Poseidon, though they do not serve in his court."**

Poseidon grinned wildly. It was always good to have extra help on his side.

**"And ... you serve in Poseidon's court?"**

**She nodded. "It has been many years since a child of the Sea God has been born. We have watched you with great interest."**

"Stalkers..." Apollo sung.

**Suddenly I remembered faces in the waves off Montauk Beach when I was a little boy, reflections of smiling women. **

Hermes face-palmed. "Surrounded by woman his whole life...no wonder Poseidon gets so many woman. It also explains how Percy was able to get Annabeth. I mean come on, a child of Athena must _not_ be easy to be in a relationship with."

Annabeth blushed while Athena rolled her eyes. Apollo's eyes widened in realization and he started cracking up.

Hermes knit his eyebrows. "What's with you?"

When Apollo finished laughing he wiped his tears and said, "Remember how in the first couple of chapters Connor or Travis would point their elbows at Annabeth and say that Percy doesn't do easy? That makes perfect sense now!"

Hermes rolled his eyes but he had a look of understanding on his face. So did the other gods. "It's not that funny anymore Apollo."

Chris shook his head. "You're all so late."

**Like so many of the weird things in my life, I'd never given it much thought before.**

Demeter rolled her eyes. "Young people these days are so ignorant of everything in their life. I swear I don't know how they live like that..."

Hades sent Aphrodite a pleading look and she began reading.

**"If my father is so interested in me," I said, "why isn't he here? Why doesn't he speak to me?"**

Poseidon glared at Zeus, who pointedly looked away from him.

**A cold current rose out of the depths.**

**"Do not judge the Lord of the Sea too harshly," the Nereid told me. "He stands at the brink of an unwanted war. He has much to occupy his time. Besides, he is forbidden to help you directly. The gods may not show such favoritism."**

"Which I don't get." Poseidon said. "Because I only have one child!"

"What about Triton?" Hephaestus asked.

"Oh yeah..." Poseidon blushed.

All of the gods raised their eyebrows at him but he didn't seem to notice the questioning looks.

**"Even to their own children?"**

**"Especially to them. **

The demigods scowled. They all hated that law. They looked up to their parents but found that they were all taking interest in their shoes or their clothes. Apollo, who wanted to be dramatic, was staring off into the sun.

**The gods can work by indirect influence only. That is why I give you a warning, and a gift."**

**She held out her hand. Three white pearls flashed in her palm.**

Poseidon grinned. That would help Percy and his friends a lot in his journey in the Underworld.

**"I know you journey to Hades' realm," she said. "Few mortals have ever done this and survived: Orpheus, who had great music skill; Hercules, who had great strength; Houdini, who could escape even the depths of Tartarus. **

Chris, Leo, and Nico smiled.

**Do you have these talents?"**

"Nope."

**"Urn ... no, ma'am."**

**"Ah, but you have something else, Percy. You have gifts you have only begun to know. The oracles**

Rachel looked confused. "Oracles? As in... more than one?"

The gods shifted uncomfortably.

"Maybe there's one for the Romans." Annabeth said. That would make sense.

**have foretold a great and terrible future for you, should you survive to man hood.**

**Poseidon would not have you die before your time. **

Poseidon nodded.

**Therefore take these, and when you are in need, smash a pearl at your feet."**

**"What will happen?"**

"Anyone notice that he completely disregarded the fact that she said he was going to die when he survives man hood and that he would have a great and terrible future?" Rachel asked.

Everyone shrugged in response.

**"That," she said, "depends on the need. But remember: what belongs to the sea will always return to the sea."**

"What does that mean?" Leo asked.

Poseidon shrugged. "Nereids are always mysterious."

**"What about the warning?"**

**Her eyes flickered with green light. "Go with what your heart tells you, or you will lose all. Hades feeds on doubt and hopelessness. He will trick you if he can, make you mistrust your own judgment. Once you are in his realm, he will never willingly let you leave. **

Hades grinned devilishly and ignored the look Poseidon gave him.

**Keep faith. Good luck, Percy Jackson."**

**She summoned her sea horse and rode toward the void.**

**"Wait!" I called. "At the river, you said not to trust the gifts. What gifts?"**

**"Good-bye, young hero," she called back, her voice fading into the depths. "You must listen to your heart." She became a speck of glowing green, and then she was gone.**

Nico frowned. "I hate it when they do that. Why do they always have to be so mysterious? It's like poetry. You never really get what it means."

The demigods on the floor nodded.

"Just like Rachel." Nico continued. He got slapped on the head.

**I wanted to follow her down into the darkness. I wanted to see the court of Poseidon. But I looked up at the sunset darkening on the surface. My friends were waiting. We had so little time...**

**I kicked upward toward the shore.**

**When I reached the beach, my clothes dried instantly. I told Grover and Annabeth what had happened, and showed them the pearls.**

**Annabeth grimaced. "No gift comes without a price."**

**"They were free."**

**"No." She shook her head. "'There is no such thing as a free lunch.' That's an ancient Greek saying that translated pretty well into American. There will be a price. You wait."**

"There's always a price." Chris muttered.

**On that happy thought, we turned our backs on the sea.**

"Happy? It sounds like he's betraying Poseidon by turning his back on the sea and he's doing it with a proud air." Hades said. "What? Stop looking at me like that. I'm just saying what it sounds like."

Demeter sighed. "Nico really did inherit his craziness from you."

**With some spare change from Ares' backpack, we took the bus into West Hollywood. I showed the driver the Underworld address slip I'd taken from Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium, but he'd never heard of DOA Recording Studios.**

Hades shook his heads. "No one's ever heard of it."

**"You remind me of somebody I saw on TV," he told me. "You a child actor or something?"**

**"Uh ... I'm a stunt double ... for a lot of child actors."**

**"Oh! That explains it."**

Hermes set his jaw. "Okay... I'll admit that his lying has gotten far more better."

**We thanked him and got off quickly at the next stop.**

**We wandered for miles on foot, looking for DOA. Nobody seemed to know where it was. It didn't appear in the phone book.**

**Twice, we ducked into alleys to avoid cop cars.**

**I froze in front of an appliance-store window because a television was playing an interview with somebody who looked very familiar—my stepdad, Smelly Gabe. He was talking to Barbara Walters—I mean, as if he were some kind of huge celebrity. She was interviewing him in our apartment, in the middle of a poker game, and there was a young blond lady sitting next to him, patting his hand.**

Aphrodite looked completely outraged at this. When she didn't read for some time and Hephaestus noticed the look on her face he nudged her so she could snap out of it and keep reading.

**A fake tear glistened on his cheek. He was saying, "Honest, Ms. Walters, if it wasn't for Sugar here, my grief counselor, **

Aphrodite growled.

**I'd be a wreck. My stepson took everything I cared about. My wife ... my Camaro ... I—I'm sorry. I have trouble talking about it."**

"That stupid pig!" Poseidon yelled. "That stupid son of a bit-!"

"POSEIDON!" Zeus yelled. "We have children here." He gestured to the group on the floor who was half laughing and half surprised. But most of all half angry and ready to curse out Gabe along with Poseidon.

**"There you have it, America." Barbara Walters turned to the camera. "A man torn apart. An adolescent boy with serious issues. Let me show you, again, the last known photo of this troubled young fugitive, taken a week ago in Denver."**

**The screen cut to a grainy shot of me, Annabeth, and Grover standing outside the Colorado diner, talking to Ares.**

Ares perked up. "I'm on TV. "

Dionysus snorted. "They probably got your bad side and added thirty pounds to you to make you look like a woman."

While the rest of the room stifled their laughter Ares looked at Dionysus with horror. As soon as his head started turning red Aphrodite began to read so that a fight wouldn't break out. Ares didn't do anything but glare at Dionysus because the last thing he wanted to do was upset Aphrodite.

**"Who are the other children in this photo?" Barbara Walters asked dramatically. "Who is the man with them? Is Percy Jackson a delinquent, a terrorist, or perhaps the brainwashed victim of a frightening new cult? When we come back, we chat with a leading child psychologist. Stay tuned, America."**

Hephaestus went into a deep thinking mode. _Maybe I should have a news show like that on Hephaestus TV._

**"C'mon," Grover told me. He hauled me away before I could punch a hole in the appliance-store window.**

"He probably would've done it to." Thalia muttered.

"How do you know that?" Athena questioned.

"Because _I_ would have done it."

**It got dark, and hungry-looking characters started coming out on the streets to play. **

"Weird."

**Now, don't get me wrong. I'm a New Yorker. I don't scare easy. But L.A. had a totally different feel from New York. Back home, everything seemed close. It didn't matter how big the city was, you could get anywhere without getting lost. The street pattern and the subway made sense. There was a system to how things worked. A kid could be safe as long as he wasn't stupid.**

**L.A. wasn't like that. It was spread out, chaotic, hard to move around. It reminded me of Ares. **

The said god frowned. "Was that supposed to be a compliment?"

Poseidon sighed. "Probably the only one you'll ever get from him."

**It wasn't enough for L.A. to be big; it had to prove it was big by being loud and strange and difficult to navigate, too. I didn't know how we were ever going to find the entrance to the Underworld by tomorrow, the summer solstice.**

Demeter shook her head while Zeus whimpered. If she ever hung around that boy she would turn more emo than Persephone during the winter.

**We walked past gangbangers, bums, and street hawkers, who looked at us like they were trying to figure if we were worth the trouble of mugging.**

**As we hurried passed the entrance of an alley, a voice from the darkness said, "Hey, you."**

Nico straightened up. "If he doesn't stop and doesn't look then he'll be fine."

Annabeth looked at Nico. "How would you know?"

Nico frowned. "I live there for awhile when I left camp."

Annabeth nodded. She knew what he meant.

**Like an idiot, I stopped.**

Nico face-palmed.

**Before I knew it, we were surrounded. A gang of kids had circled us. Six of them in all—white kids with expensive clothes and mean faces. Like the kids at Yancy Academy: rich brats playing at being bad boys.**

Nico frowned. "They're not rich and they definitely didn't buy those clothes."

Hermes perked up a little but among seeing Nico's face he frowned.

**Instinctively, I uncapped Riptide.**

Athena shook her head.

**When the sword appeared out of nowhere, the kids backed off, but their leader was either really stupid or really brave, because he kept coming at me with a switchblade.**

**I made the mistake of swinging.**

"Of course you did." Athena muttered.

**The kid yelped. But he must've been one hundred per cent mortal, because the blade passed harmlessly right through his chest. He looked down. "What the ..."**

**I figured I had about three seconds before his shock turned to anger. "Run!" I screamed at Annabeth and Grover.**

**We pushed two kids out of the way and raced down the street, not knowing where we were going. We turned a sharp corner.**

**"There!" Annabeth shouted.**

Annabeth frowned. She wished they had faced the kids instead.

**Only one store on the block looked open, its windows glaring with neon. The sign above the door said something like CRSTUY'S WATRE BDE ALPACE.**

"What?"

"The dyslexia."

**"Crusty's Water Bed Palace?" Grover translated.**

"Crusty?" Jason asked. "That's a weird name."

"That doesn't sound like somewhere I would go." Piper said.

"You shouldn't." Annabeth said. She absent-mindedly rubbed her neck.

**It didn't sound like a place I'd ever go except in an emergency, but this definitely qualified.**

**We burst through the doors, ran behind a water bed, and ducked. A split second later, the gang kids ran past outside.**

**"I think we lost them," Grover panted.**

**A voice behind us boomed, "Lost who?"**

**We all jumped.**

**Standing behind us was a guy who looked like a raptor in a leisure suit. He was at least seven feet tall, with absolutely no hair. He had gray, leathery skin, **

Artemis wrinkled her nose. "That's the first sign that he's a monster and that you should go."

**thick-lidded eyes, and a cold, reptilian smile. He moved toward us slowly, but I got the feeling he could move fast if he needed to.**

**His suit might've come from the Lotus Casino. It belonged back in the seventies, big-time. The shirt was silk paisley, unbuttoned halfway down his hairless chest. The lapels on his velvet jacket were as wide as landing strips. The silver chains around his neck—I couldn't even count them.**

"Whoa." Apollo said. "1970s flashback. I wonder where my bell-bottom pants are. I never found them..."

All the gods looked alarmed. Athena leaned over to Artemis. "You did burn his pants right?"

Artemis nodded. "I had Hermes help me sneak into his room and then Hestia helped me burn them."

Athena nodded and waited for Aphrodite to continue reading.

**"I'm Crusty," he said, with a tartar-yellow smile.**

"Yes, you are." Poseidon said. Several people nodded along with Poseidon.

**I resisted the urge to say, **_**Yes, you are.**_

Everyone snorted.

**"Sorry to barge in," I told him. "We were just, um, browsing."**

**"You mean hiding from those no-good kids," he grumbled. "They hang around every night. I get a lot of people in here, thanks to them. Say, you want to look at a water bed?"**

"Do you think he gets those kids to stand out there on purpose so that he can get customers?" Chris asked.

"Probably." Rachel shrugged.

**I was about to say **_**No, thanks, **_**when he put a huge paw on my shoulder and steered me deeper into the showroom.**

Poseidon knit his eyebrows. "Why does this remind me of someone I know so much?"

**There was every kind of water bed you could imagine: different kinds of wood, different patterns of sheets; queen-size, king-size, emperor-of-the-universe-size.**

"Poseidon, didn't your lad Theseus meet someone like that when he was traveling to Athens? What was the guy's name? Pricky? Rickardo? Prockardo?" Apollo asked.

Poseidon's eys widened. "Procrustes!"

"Yeah." Apollo smiled. "That's him."

"No!" Poseidon yelled. "I mean that's Procrustes!"

Everyone gasped and the air suddenly got tense.

**"This is my most popular model." Crusty spread his hands proudly over a bed covered with black satin sheets, with built-in Lava Lamps on the headboard. The mattress vibrated, so it looked like oil-flavored Jell-O.**

"Eww."

**"Million-hand massage," Crusty told us. "Go on, try it out. Shoot, take a nap. I don't care. No business today, any-way."**

**"Um," I said, "I don't think ..."**

Poseidon nodded his head. "Don't do it!"

**"Million-hand massage!" Grover cried, and dove in. "Oh, you guys! This is cool."**

Poseidon sighed. _Thank Zeus!_

Zeus turned and gave him an irritated look.

**"Hmm," Crusty said, stroking his leathery chin. "Almost, almost."**

**"Almost what?" I asked.**

**He looked at Annabeth. "Do me a favor and try this one over here, honey. Might fit."**

**Annabeth said, "But what—"**

**He patted her reassuringly on the shoulder and led her over to the Safari Deluxe model with teakwood lions carved into the frame and a leopard-patterned comforter. When Annabeth didn't want to lie down, Crusty pushed her.**

**"Hey!" she protested.**

"Oh, no." Athena mumbled.

Clarisse smirked. "Explains why you were taller than him for some time."

Annabeth blushed and the older counselors cracked a smile at her.

**Crusty snapped his fingers. **_**"Ergo!"**_

**Ropes sprang from the sides of the bed, lashing around Annabeth, holding her to the mattress.**

**Grover tried to get up, but ropes sprang from his black-satin bed, too, and lashed him down.**

**"N-not c-c-cool!" ****he yelled, his voice vibrating from the million-hand massage. "N-not c-cool a-at all!"**

Dionysus looked up from his cell-phone. "I agree."

**The giant looked at Annabeth, then turned toward me and grinned. "Almost, darn it."**

**I tried to step away, but his hand shot out and clamped around the back of my neck. "Whoa, kid. Don't worry. We'll find you one in a sec."**

**"Let my friends go."**

Clarisse rolled her eyes. "Like he'll actually listen."

**"Oh, sure I will. But I got to make them fit, first."**

**"What do you mean?"**

**"All the beds are exactly six feet, see? Your friends are too short. Got to make them fit."**

**Annabeth and Grover kept struggling.**

**"Can't stand imperfect measurements," Crusty muttered. **_**"Ergo!"**_

Annabeth started muttering incoherent things that sounded a lot like curse words.

**A new set of ropes leaped out from the top and bottom of the beds, wrapping around Grover and Annabeth's ankles, then around their armpits. The ropes started tightening, pulling my friends from both ends.**

Aphrodite scrunched up her nose. "That must feel horrible."

**"Don't worry," Crusty told me, "These are stretching jobs. Maybe three extra inches on their spines. They might even live. **

"_Might?_" Thalia said.

**Now why don't we find a bed you like, huh?"**

**"Percy!" Grover yelled.**

**My mind was racing. I knew I couldn't take on this giant water-bed salesman alone. He would snap my neck before I ever got my sword out.**

**"Your real name's not Crusty, is it?" I asked.**

Hermes nodded. Stalling was a good tactic.

**"Legally, it's Procrustes," he admitted.**

**"The Stretcher," I said. I remembered the story: the giant who'd tried to kill Theseus with excess hospitality on his way to Athens.**

Apollo grinned. "I was right! Take that history books!"

Athena rolled her eyes at him.

**"Yeah," the salesman said. "But who can pronounce **_**Procrustes? **_**Bad for business. Now 'Crusty,' anybody can say that."**

**"You're right. It's got a good ring to it."**

Dionysus shook his head. "Poseidon your son is insane. That's a good tactic but he's insane."

**His eyes lit up. "You think so?"**

**"Oh, absolutely," I said. "And the workmanship on these beds? Fabulous!"**

"Could he go a little faster?" Athena asked nervously.

**He grinned hugely, but his fingers didn't loosen on my neck. "I tell my customers that. Every time. Nobody bothers to look at the workmanship. How many built-in Lava Lamp headboards have you seen?"**

**"Not too many."**

**"That's right!"**

**"Percy!" Annabeth yelled. "What are you doing?"**

**"Don't mind her," I told Procrustes. "She's impossible."**

"_Impossible?_" Annabeth said. Thalia eyed Aphrodite so that she could continue reading. As much as she loved her best friend she really didn't want to hear her start a rant.

**The giant laughed. "All my customers are. Never six feet exactly. So inconsiderate. And then they complain about the fitting."**

"I don't think that's what Percy meant." Hermes smiled.

**"What do you do if they're longer than six feet?"**

**"Oh, that happens all the time. It's a simple fix."**

**He let go of my neck, but before I could react, he reached behind a nearby sales desk and brought out a huge double-bladed brass axe.**

**He said, "I just center the subject as best I can and lop off whatever hangs over on either end."**

**"Ah," I said, swallowing hard. "Sensible."**

**"I'm so glad to come across an intelligent customer!"**

"Dumba**!" Poseidon muttered.

"My, my Poseidon." Hades whistled. "Don't you have a language."

Hephaestus shrugged. "I wouldn't blame him. That's two of his kids that Procrustes tried to kill. Is trying to kill, _if_ Percy lives."

**The ropes were really stretching my friends now. Annabeth was turning pale. Grover made gurgling sounds, like a strangled goose.**

Connor smiled mischeviously. "Grover is not goat-boy anymore. He is now goose-boy!"

Thalia shook her head. "Let me know when you're going to meet Grover. I'll need to get my camera ready."

**"So, Crusty ..." I said, trying to keep my voice light. I glanced at the sales tag on the valentine-shaped Honeymoon Special. "Does this one really have dynamic stabilizers to stop wave motion?"**

**"Absolutely. Try it out."**

**"Yeah, maybe I will. But would it work even for a big guy like you? No waves at all?"**

**"Guaranteed."**

**"No way."**

**"Way."**

**"Show me."**

**He sat down eagerly on the bed, patted the mattress. "No waves. See?"**

**I snapped my fingers. **_**"Ergo."**_

A cheer erupted from the group on the floor while Poseidon let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in.

**Ropes lashed around Crusty and flattened him against the mattress.**

**"Hey!" he yelled.**

**"Center him just right," I said.**

**The ropes readjusted themselves at my command. Crusty's whole head stuck out the top. His feet stuck out the bottom.**

**"No!" he said. "Wait! This is just a demo."**

**I uncapped Riptide. "A few simple adjustments ..."**

The demigods smiled.

**I had no qualms about what I was about to do. If Crusty were human, I couldn't hurt him anyway. If he w****as a monster, he deserved to turn into dust for a while.**

**"You drive a hard bargain," he told me. "I'll give you thirty percent off on selected floor models."**

**"I think I'll start with the top." I raised my sword.**

**"No money down! No interest for six months!"**

**I swung the sword. Crusty stopped making offers.**

The demigods cracked a smile.

**I cut the ropes on the other beds. Annabeth and Grover got to their feet, groaning and wincing and cursing me a lot.**

"That makes no sense. He just saved your life and your cursing him?" Katie asked. She hadn't spoken for the entire chapter so everyone was kind of startled at her voice.

Annabeth shrugged. "He took too long."

**"You look taller," I said.**

**"Very funny," Annabeth said. "Be faster next time."**

"Hopefully there won't be a next time." Athena muttered.

**I looked at the bulletin board behind Crusty's sales desk. There was an advertisement for Hermes Delivery Service, and another for the All-New Compendium of L.A. Area Monsters—"The only Monstrous Yellow Pages you'll ever need!" Under that, a bright orange flier for DOA Recording Studios, offering commissions for heroes' souls. "We are always looking for new talent!" **

Everyone snorted.

**DOA's address was right underneath with a map.**

"Lucky." Nico said. "Next time I stop by a monster's lair, after I defeat them, I'm going to raid their desks to see if they have any valuable information."

The other demigods nodded. That seemed like a good idea.

**"Come on," I told my friends.**

**"Give us a minute," Grover complained. "We were almost stretched to death.'"**

**"Then you're ready for the Underworld," I said. "It's only a block from here."**

"Coincidence much?" Chris asked.

"Does it matter?" Zeus snapped. "As long as I get my master bolt back."

* * *

><p><strong>I would've posted this earlier but I got really lazy this weekend. Review.<strong>

**Erudite19**


	21. Obediance School

"**Annabeth Does Obedience School." **Ares mused. "At least someone is taking charge. About time..."

"cough*whipped*cough, cough" Connor looked away from Annabeth's direction.

Katie looked at him incredulously. "Do you want a death wish? Like really... 'cause by the look on her face right now I'm sure Annabeth would have no problems delivering it."

Connor stole a glance at Annabeth's face and he paled considerably. Annabeth's face was a mixed painting of anger, cold and unmerciful eyes, but most of all she looked like she was about to break down. Like everything that had happened to her in the past couple of days and in the past couple of months (in their time) was about to break loose in one giant emotional heap.

He decided that it would be best to keep quiet.

**We stood in the shadows of Valencia Boulevard, looking up at gold letters etched in black marble: DOA RECORDING STUDIOS.**

"Oh great." Hades mumbled. "They found the studio." He sighed. "Now after they 'supposedly' leave Persephone will nag me about left over traces of dna from living godlings. We'll have to sanatize the entire Underworld."

He face-palmed while the other gods started chuckling at his demeanor. He looked up at them with an irritated look on his face. "Oh, don't act like your wife or girlfriend never nagged you about cleaning up something!"

The room got considerably quiet. The gods found interest in their thrones while the demigods laughed quietly.

**Underneath, stenciled on the glass doors: NO SOLICITORS. NO LOITERING. NO LIVING.**

Hades frowned even more. "Stupid godlings... sanatize...Underworld...Persephone...overcrowded domain...stupid brothers...stupid lots..."

**It was almost midnight, but the lobby was brightly lit and full of people. Behind the security desk sat a tough-looking guard with sunglasses and an earpiece.**

Hades perked up. Maybe Charon would keep them from entering the Underworld. He'd raise Charon's pay if he did that.

**I turned to my friends. "Okay. You remember the plan."**

The demigods who knew Percy personally sucked in their breaths worriedly.

"This is not going to end well." Thalia frowned.

Zeus nodded along with the rest of the gods. If they knew Poseidon well enough and if Percy was exactly like Poseidon then this plan would backfire a couple times before it had a chance at working.

**Annabeth said, "What happens if the plan doesn't work?"**

"It won't."

Poseidon glared at the occupants of the room.

**"Don't think negative."**

Hades looked at Poseidon with an unbelievable look on his face. "The son of the person that is a complete pessimist is telling the other person not to think negative?"

Poseidon shrugged in return. "I'm only a pessimist when no one else is. When someone else is a pessimist I have to balance it out."

All the goddesses rolled their eyes at him.

**"Right," she said. "We're entering the Land of the Dead, and I shouldn't think negative."**

Hades smirked a little. "No matter how unnerving it is to think like a daughter of Athena-" Annabeth frowned- "I knew I was right."

**I took the pearls out of my pocket, the three milky spheres the Nereid had given me in Santa Monica. They didn't seem like much of a backup in case something went wrong.**

Poseidon frowned. If only Percy knew how powerful they were.

**Annabeth put her hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Percy. You're right, we'll make it. It'll be fine."**

"And now Percy has to be a pessimist again."

**She gave Grover a nudge.**

**"Oh, right!" he chimed in. "We got this far. We'll find the master bolt and save your mom. No problem."**

Hades scowled. _He'll make sure that there are many 'pets' to look forward to in the Underworld._

**I looked at them both, and felt really grateful. Only a few minutes before, I'd almost gotten them stretched to death on deluxe water beds, **

Annabeth frowned while the older counselors snickered.

**and now they were trying to be brave for my sake, trying to make me feel better.**

**I slipped the pearls back in my pocket. "Let's whip some Underworld butt."**

Hades' scowl increased.

**We walked inside the DOA lobby.**

**Music played softly on hidden speakers. The carpet and walls were steel gray. Pencil cactuses grew in the corners like skeleton hands. The furniture was black leather, and every seat was taken. There were people sitting on couches, people standing up, people staring out the windows or waiting for the elevator. Nobody moved, or talked, or did much of anything. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see them all just fine, but if I focused on any one of them in particular, they started looking ... transparent. I could see right through their bodies.**

Apollo shivered. "That is so depressing. How do you live like that?"

Hades rolled his eyes. "Not everyone wants to be a high school cheerleader like you Apollo."

"Yeah." Apollo replied. "You want to cheer for emo, goth, punk, and flat out depressing people."

"And what's wrong with that?" Thalia and Nico asked at the same time.

"Everything..." Rachel mumbled. She got glares from the two kids but didn't seem to register them.

Hades frowned. "We do not _cheer, _we simply sit at a table and snapplause when someone finishes reciting a poem."

"See?" Apollo nearly yelled. "That's what I'm talking about. It's so disturbing... so-"

"How many centuries do you two have to argue over that subject?" Poseidon sighed. "Just let it go."

Ares scoffed. "This is coming from the person who's been arguing with Athena for the last three thousand years."

Poseidon scowled at Ares. "This is coming from the person who's competing with Hephaestus for Aphrodite but is obviously losing."

Hephaestus looked up and paled a little. He didn't want to be put in the middle of everything.

The two gods glared at each other before Aphrodite cleared her throat and Ares started to read again.

**The security guard's desk was a raised podium, so we had to look up at him.**

**He was tall and elegant, with chocolate-colored skin and bleached-blond hair shaved military style. He wore tortoiseshell shades and a silk Italian suit that matched his hair. A black rose was pinned to his lapel under a silver name tag.**

**I read the name tag, then looked at him in bewilderment. "Your name is Chiron?"**

Several people face-palmed.

Hades shook his head. "Charon will not like that. He hates it when people confuse him with Chiron."

Poseidon sulked. He considered taking out his blanket again but he decided that he had taken it out too many times during the day.

**He leaned across the desk. I couldn't see anything in his glasses except my own reflection, but his smile was sweet and cold, like a pythons, right before it eats you.**

"Depressing much..." Apollo mumbled.

**"What a precious young lad." He had a strange accent—British, maybe, but also as if he had learned English as a second language. "Tell me, mate, do I look like a centaur?"**

**"N-no."**

**"Sir," he added smoothly.**

**"Sir," I said.**

**He pinched the name tag and ran his finger under the letters. "Can you read this, mate? It says C-H**_**-A-**_**R-O-N. Say it with me: CARE-ON."**

**"Charon."**

**"Amazing! Now: **_**Mr. **_**Charon."**

**"Mr. Charon," I said.**

**"Well done." He sat back. "I **_**hate **_**being confused with that old horse-man. **

Rachel frowned. "He acts like he's not old."

**And now, how may I help you little dead ones?"**

**His question caught in my stomach like a fastball. I looked at Annabeth for support.**

"Like he always does." Travis smiled. The other demigods smiled at Annabeth also.

Athena kept a blank face on but in the inside she was freaking out.

Annabeth smiled faintly but didn't answer. She felt like she was about to collapse from hearing about Percy so much. She looked outside and noticed that it was getting dark. Snow was falling lightly on the ground. She wanted to just go back to her room and _probably_ cry herself to sleep. This was highly unlike her but she just couldn't help it any more. Reality was crashing on her harder than it had ever been before and it hurt so bad. She needed Percy back so much.

Out of the corner of her mind she saw Aphrodite glancing at her with worry but before the goddess could question her Ares continued reading.

**"We want to go the Underworld," she said.**

Nico snorted. "That's a new one. People who want to go to the Underworld."

**Charon's mouth twitched. "Well, that's refreshing."**

"Pfft."

**"It is?" she asked.**

"No."

**"Straight forward and honest. No screaming. No 'There must be a mistake, Mr. Charon.'" He looked us over. "How did you die, then?"**

Piper grimaced. They probably hadn't thought about that part.

**I nudged Grover.**

**"Oh," he said. "Um ... drowned ... in the bathtub."**

The room erupted into fits of laughter.

**"All three of you?" Charon asked. We nodded.**

**"Big bathtub." Charon looked mildly impressed.**

Leo frowned. "You could've just said that it was a jacuzzi. That would've made more sense."

_**"**_**I don't suppose you have coins for passage. Normally, with adults, you see, I could charge your American Express, or add the ferry price to your last cable bill. But with children ... alas, you never die prepared. Suppose you'll have to take a seat for a few centuries."**

**"Oh, but we have coins." I set three golden drachmas on the counter, part of the stash I'd found in Crusty's office desk.**

**"Well, now ..." Charon moistened his lips. "Real drachmas. Real golden drachmas. I haven't seen these in ..."**

"Two thousand years..." Nico muttered.

Rachel knit her eyebrows. "How do you know that?"

Nico sighed. "It's the same speech every time I go there. It gets on my nerves every time."

**His fingers hovered greedily over the coins.**

**We were so close.**

Poseidon grimaced and Hades smiled brilliantly. Zeus started whimpering again.

**Then Charon looked at me. That cold stare behind his glasses seemed to bore a hole through my chest. **

**"Here now," he said. "You couldn't read my name correctly. Are you dyslexic, lad?"**

**"No," I said. "I'm dead."**

Hermes grimaced. "And that's how he knows you're alive."

**Charon leaned forward and took a sniff. "You're not dead. I should've known. You're a godling."**

**"We have to get to the Underworld," I insisted.**

**Charon made a growling sound deep in his throat.**

**Immediately, all the people in the waiting room got up and started pacing, agitated, lighting cigarettes,**

"That's probably how they died." Aphrodite wrinkled her nose.

**running hands through their hair, or checking their wristwatches.**

**"Leave while you can," Charon told us. "I'll just take these and forget I saw you."**

**He started to go for the coins, but I snatched them back.**

**"No service, no tip." I tried to sound braver than I felt.**

"Probably didn't work." Ares muttered.

**Charon growled again—a deep, blood-chilling sound. The spirits of the dead started pounding on the elevator doors.**

**"It's a shame, too," I sighed. "We had more to offer."**

**I held up the entire bag from Crusty's stash. I took out a fistful of drachmas and let the coins spill through my fingers.**

Hermes grinned. Now he was really starting to like Percy.

**Charon's growl changed into something more like a lion's purr. "Do you think I can be bought, godling? **

"_Yes._" Hades muttered irritably.

Hermes smiled. "That guy is so easy to bribe. I'll just show up and give him a twenty and he wont even glance at me."

"And he wants me to raise his pay..."

**Eh ... just out of curiosity, how much have you got there?"**

**"A lot," I said. "I bet Hades doesn't pay you well enough for such hard work."**

"Pfft."

**"Oh, you don't know the half of it. How would you like to babysit these spirits all day? Always 'Please don't let me be dead' or 'Please let me across for free.' I haven't had a pay raise in three thousand years. Do you imagine suits like this come cheap?"**

"I don't care much."

"Lighten up Hades. Suits like that do cost a lot of money. I should know."

"I don't care Zeus. No one told him to buy expensive suits to wear at work. He could get a regular suit for free."

**"You deserve better," I agreed. "A little appreciation. Respect. Good pay."**

**With each word, I stacked another gold coin on the counter.**

Hermes nearly fainted. He was glowing faintly. "So much bribery..."

**Charon glanced down at his silk Italian jacket, as if imagining himself in something even better. **

Hades face-palmed.

**"I must say, lad, you're making some sense now. Just a little."**

**I stacked another few coins. "I could mention a pay raise while I'm talking to Hades."**

"He better not."

**He sighed. "The boat's almost full, anyway. I might as well add you three and be off."**

**He stood, scooped up our money, and said, "Come along."**

Hades frowned. And now he was going to have to sanitize the Underworld and deal with three unwanted kids.

**We pushed through the crowd of waiting spirits, who started grabbing at our clothes like the wind, their voices whispering things I couldn't make out. Charon shoved them out of the way, grumbling, "Freeloaders."**

**He escorted us into the elevator, which was already crowded with souls of the dead, each one holding a green boarding pass. Charon grabbed two spirits who were trying to get on with us and pushed them back into the lobby.**

**"Right. Now, no one get any ideas while I'm gone," he announced to the waiting room. "And if anyone moves the dial off my easy-listening station again, I'll make sure you're here for another thousand years. Understand?"**

Ares rolled his eyes. "So harsh. I wouldn't want to meet this guy in an alley."

Nico raised his eyebrows. "Actually, he's a pretty good body guard and friend."

Jason looked at Nico. "How would you know that?"

"It's a _really_ long story..."

**He shut the doors. He put a key card into a slot in the elevator panel and we started to descend.**

**"What happens to the spirits waiting in the lobby?" Annabeth asked.**

**"Nothing," Charon said.**

**"For how long?"**

**"Forever, or until I'm feeling generous."**

**"Oh," she said. "That's ... fair."**

"Yeah right."

**Charon raised an eyebrow. "Whoever said death was fair, young miss? Wait until it's your turn. You'll die soon enough, where you're going."**

**"We'll get out alive," I said.**

Poseidon nodded furiously while Hades grumbled.

"Wait," Clarisse knit her eyebrows. "If he doesn't get out alive then doesn't that mean that he'll come out dead?"

Her response was a whimper from Poseidon, a worried look on Athena and Dionysus' face, and a bunch of shrugs from the rest of the occupants in the room.

**"Ha."**

**I got a sudden dizzy feeling. We weren't going down anymore, but forward. The air turned misty. Spirits around me started changing shape. Their modern clothes flickered, turning into gray hooded robes. The floor of the elevator began swaying.**

Apollo swallowed nervously. This was really ruining his mood.

**I blinked hard. When I opened my eyes, Charon's creamy Italian suit had been replaced by a long black robe. His tortoiseshell glasses were gone. Where his eyes should've been were empty sockets—like Ares' eyes, except Charon's were totally dark, full of night and death and despair.**

Apollo sulked in his chair. "Hey Poseidon? Do you have another blanket that I could borrow?"

Poseidon shook his head at Apollo but took out a spare blanket. "Thanks." As soon as the blanket touched Apollo's fingers the design of seahorses and star fish changed to the sun and sky.

**He saw me looking, and said, "Well?"**

**"Nothing," I managed.**

**I thought he was grinning, but that wasn't it. The flesh of his face was becoming transparent, letting me see straight through to his skull.**

**The floor kept swaying.**

**Grover said, "I think I'm getting seasick."**

**When I blinked again, the elevator wasn't an elevator anymore. We were standing in a wooden barge. Charon was poling us across a dark, oily river, swirling with bones, dead fish, and other, stranger things—plastic dolls, crushed car nations, soggy diplomas with gilt edges.**

"Dreams that never came true." Thalia muttered.

Athena shook her head. "Diplomas thrown in the River Styxs? What do people plan to accomplish in their lives if they don't get an education? They'll sit around with a laid back expression all day long-" subconsciously she glanced at Poseidon, who was trying to tell Ares to read- "and do nothing. They'll waste their potential-"

Ares started reading.

**"The River Styx," Annabeth murmured. "It's so ..."**

**"Polluted," Charon said. "For thousands of years, you humans have been throwing in everything as you come across—hopes, dreams, wishes that never came true. Irresponsible waste management, if you ask me."**

Poseidon nodded with Hades. "So it happens in the Underworld too? Such a shame."

**Mist curled off the filthy water. Above us, almost lost in the gloom, was a ceiling of stalactites. Ahead, the far shore glimmered with greenish light, the color of poison.**

"Wow..." Piper breathed. "That's so depressing."

Jason nodded. He felt quesy and by the look on Apollo's face he was feeling the same thing to.

**Panic closed up my throat. What was I doing here? These people around me ... they were dead.**

**Annabeth grabbed hold of my hand. **

Aphrodite grinned like a cheshire cat. Athena sighed, would this torment ever end? She hoped that this was just a thing that Annabeth was going through and that she would see that she didn't like the son of Poseidon.

**Under normal circumstances, this would've embarrassed me, **

"Yup."

**but I understood how she felt. She wanted reassurance that somebody else was alive on this boat.**

**I found myself muttering a prayer, though I wasn't quite sure who I was praying to. Down here, only one god mattered, and he was the one I had come to confront.**

**The shoreline of the Underworld came into view. Craggy rocks and black volcanic sand stretched inland about a hundred yards to the base of a high stone wall, which marched off in either direction as far as we could see. A sound came from somewhere nearby in the green gloom, echoing off the stones—the howl of a large animal.**

Nico grinned. "Cerberus!" Then he sighed. "I miss the dog so much..."

Annabeth nodded. She had a sad smile on her face. She remembered playing with Cerberus. _Just like the Doberman._

**"Old Three-Face is hungry," Charon said. His smile turned skeletal in the greenish light. "Bad luck for you, godlings."**

**The bottom of our boat slid onto the black sand. The dead began to disembark. A woman holding a little girl's hand. An old man and an old woman hobbling along arm in arm. A boy no older than I was, shuffling silently along in his gray robe.**

Apollo stood up. "I'm going to go early today. I can't take more of these depressing descriptions."

Ares scowled. The second Apollo took a step forward a whole bunch of chains erupted from the back of his throne and pinned Apollo to the seat.

"Hey! What's going on?"

"Man up Apollo." Ares replied. "It's just a description. It's not like you're actually going there."

He ignored the glare Apollo was giving him and continued reading.

**Charon said, "I'd wish you luck, mate, but there isn't any down here. Mind you, don't forget to mention my pay raise."**

Hades frowned.

**He counted our golden coins into his pouch, then took up his pole. He warbled something that sounded like a Barry Manilow song as he ferried the empty barge back across the river.**

**We followed the spirits up a well-worn path.**

**I'm not sure what I was expecting—Pearly Gates, **

"Seriously? Pearly Gates? This isn't Apollo's mansion." Hades frowned.

"I wish it was." Apollo said. "It's more cheerful there." He snuggled under his blanket.

**or a big black portcullis, **

"That would make more sense." Hades mused. "I should add that shouldn't I?"

"No." Apollo grumbled.

**or something. But the entrance to the Underworld looked like a cross between airport security and the Jersey Turnpike.**

**There were three separate entrances under one huge black archway that said YOU ARE NOW ENTERING EREBUS. Each entrance had a pass-through metal detector with security cameras mounted on top. Beyond this were tollbooths manned by black-robed ghouls like Charon.**

**The howling of the hungry animal was really loud now, but I couldn't see where it was coming from. The three-headed dog, Cerberus, who was supposed to guard Hades' door, was nowhere to be seen.**

"Then where is he?" Leo questioned. "Is he like, hidden or something?"

"He's either," Nico started. "At the tree where the minotaur is trying to wake it up with it's loud barks or 'playing' with Mrs. O'leary."

"Who's that?" Artemis asked.

"You'll see soon."

**The dead queued up in the three lines, two marked ATTENDANT ON DUTY, and one marked EZ DEATH. The EZ DEATH line was moving right along. The other two were crawling.**

**"What do you figure?" I asked Annabeth.**

**"The fast line must go straight to the Asphodel Fields," she said. "No contest. They don't want to risk judgment from the court, because it might go against them."**

"Wussies." Ares muttered.

**"There's a court for dead people?"**

**"Yeah. Three judges. They switch around who sits on the bench. King Minos, **

Nico's demeanor worsened.

**Thomas Jefferson, Shakespeare—people like that. Sometimes they look at a life and decide that person needs a special reward—the Fields of Elysium. Sometimes they decide on punishment. But most people, well, they just lived. Nothing special, good or bad. So they go to the Asphodel Fields."**

**"And do what?"**

**Grover said, "Imagine standing in a wheat field in Kansas. Forever."**

Ares gaped at the book. "So... like, no action or anything. Just standing?"

At the nods he received he sulked. "My worst nightmare..."

**"Harsh," I said.**

**"Not as harsh as that," Grover muttered. "Look."**

**A couple of black-robbed ghouls had pulled aside one spirit and were frisking him at the security desk. The face of the dead man looked vaguely familiar.**

**"He's that preacher who made the news, remember?" Grover asked.**

**"Oh, yeah." I did remember now. We'd seen him on TV a couple of times at the Yancy Academy dorm. He was this annoying televangelist from upstate New York who'd raised millions of dollars for orphanages **

"Then why is he being stopped?" Hades questioned.

Nico shrugged. "Probably one of the gangs in the Underworld."

**and then got caught spending the money on stuff for his mansion, like gold-plated toilet seats, and an indoor putt-putt golf course. **

"Oh."

**He'd died in a police chase when his "Lamborghini for the Lord" went off a cliff.**

Nico started chuckling. "'Lamborghini for the lord', that's a new one."

Katie shook her head at him. "You are so weird."

"I embrace it."

**I said, "What're they doing to him?"**

**"Special punishment from Hades," Grover guessed. "The really bad people get his personal attention as soon as they arrive. The Fur—the Kindly Ones will set up an eternal torture for him."**

**The thought of the Furies made me shudder. I realized I was in their home territory now. Old Mrs. Dodds would be licking her lips with anticipation.**

**"But if he's a preacher," I said, "and he believes in a different hell..."**

**Grover shrugged. "Who says he's seeing this place the way we're seeing it? Humans see what they want to see. You're very stubborn—er, persistent, that way."**

"Nice save."

**We got closer to the gates. The howling was so loud now it shook the ground at my feet, but I still couldn't figure out where it was coming from.**

**Then, about fifty feet in front of us, the green mist shimmered. Standing just where the path split into three lanes was an enormous shadowy monster.**

**I hadn't seen it before because it was half transparent, like the dead. Until it moved, it blended with whatever was behind it. Only its eyes and teeth looked solid. And it was staring straight at me.**

**My jaw hung open. All I could think to say was, "He's a Rottweiler."**

"Well what else would he be?" Hades said. "A poodle?"

**I'd always imagined Cerberus as a big black mastiff. But he was obviously a purebred Rottweiler, except of course that he was twice the size of a woolly mammoth, mostly invisible, and had three heads.**

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah. Those little details."

**The dead walked right up to him—no fear at all. The ATTENDANT ON DUTY lines parted on either side of him. The EZ DEATH spirits walked right between his front paws and under his belly, which they could do without even crouching.**

Nico looked at Hades. "How do you take him for a walk if he's so big?"

Hades sighed. "The people in New York will believe just about anything when the mist is active. They think he's a miniature blimp that I've somehow managed to tie to a rope and parade around New York in. When he pees everyone thinks it's raining."

Everyone scrunched their noses at the last comment.

**"I'm starting to see him better," I muttered. "Why is that?"**

**"I think ..." Annabeth moistened her lips. "I'm afraid it's because we're getting closer to being dead."**

**The dog's middle head craned toward us. It sniffed the air and growled.**

**"It can smell the living," I said.**

Poseidon's hair started to turn gray.

**"But that's okay," Grover said, trembling next to me. "Because we have a plan."**

**"Right," Annabeth said. I'd never heard her voice sound quite so small. "A plan."**

"A plan that probably bites." Thalia mumbled. Annabeth nodded.

**We moved toward the monster.**

**The middle head snarled at us, then barked so loud my eyeballs rattled.**

**"Can you understand it?" I asked Grover.**

**"Oh yeah," he said. "I can understand it."**

**"What's it saying?"**

**"I don't think humans have a four-letter word that translates, exactly."**

"Tsk, tsk." Poseidon said. "And you all say I have bad language."

**I took the big stick out of my backpack—a bedpost I'd broken off Crusty's Safari Deluxe floor model. I held it up, and tried to channel happy dog thoughts toward Cerberus—Alpo commercials, cute little pup pies, fire hydrants. I tried to smile, like I wasn't about to die.**

Thalia frowned. "That's really hard to do." The other demigods smiled at her sympathetically.

**"Hey, Big Fella," I called up. "I bet they don't play with you much."**

_**"GROWWWLLLL!"**_

**"Good boy," I said weakly.**

**I waved the stick. The dog's middle head followed the movement. The other two heads trained their eyes on me, completely ignoring the spirits. I had Cerberus's undivided attention. I wasn't sure that was a good thing.**

"Sometimes."

**"Fetch!" I threw the stick into the gloom, a good solid throw. I heard it go **_**ker-sploosh**_ **in the River Styx.**

Travis shook his head. "Epic fail."

**Cerberus glared at me, unimpressed. His eyes were baleful and cold.**

**So much for the plan.**

Thalia sighed. "I knew it would bite."

**Cerberus was now making a new kind of growl, deeper down in his three throats.**

**"Um," Grover said. "Percy?"**

**"Yeah?"**

**"I just thought you'd want to know."**

**"Yeah?"**

**"Cerberus? He's saying we've got ten seconds to pray to the god of our choice**_**. **_**After that... well ... he's hungry."**

**"Wait!" Annabeth said. She started rifling through her pack.**

**Uh-oh, I thought.**

Annabeth frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

**"Five seconds," Grover said. "Do we run now?"**

**Annabeth produced a red rubber ball the size of a grapefruit. It was labeled WATERLAND, DENVER, CO. **

"Oh."

**Before I could stop her, she raised the ball and marched straight up to Cerberus.**

Ares stared at Annabeth with newfound respect.

**She shouted, "See the ball? You want the ball, Cerberus? Sit!"**

**Cerberus looked as stunned as we were.**

**All three of his heads cocked sideways. Six nostrils dilated.**

**"Sit!" Annabeth called again.**

"I'll be surprised if he actually listens." Ares said.

**I was sure that any moment she would become the world's largest Milkbone dog biscuit.**

**But instead, Cerberus licked his three sets of lips, shifted on his haunches, and sat, **

Everyone gaped at Annabeth except for Nico and Hades. Hades sniffed along with Nico. "That's _my _dog."

Everyone ignored the two slightly insane figures that were dressed in black and sniffing over a dog.

**immediately crushing a dozen spirits who'd been passing underneath him in the EZ DEATH line. The spirits made muffled hisses as they dissipated, like the air let out of tires.**

"Ohh!"

**Annabeth said, "Good boy!"**

**She threw Cerberus the ball.**

**He caught it in his middle mouth. It was barely big enough for him to chew, and the other heads started snapping at the middle, trying to get the new toy.**

**"Drop it." Annabeth ordered.**

**Cerberus's heads stopped fighting and looked at her. The ball was wedged between two of his teeth like a tiny piece of gum. He made a loud, scary whimper, **

"Scary?" Hades questioned. "Is he _scared_ off you? What have you done to my dog?"

Demeter sent a glare to Ares, who started to read.

**then dropped the ball, now slimy and bitten nearly in half, at Annabeth's feet.**

**"Good boy." She picked up the ball, ignoring the monster spit all over it.**

"Eww." Aphrodite pursed her lips.

**She turned toward us. "Go now. EZ DEATH line—it's faster."**

**I said, "But—"**

**"Now.'" She ordered, in the same tone she was using on the dog.**

**Grover and I inched forward warily.**

The throne room erupted into laughter. Athena smiled proudly at Annabeth while Poseidon rolled his eyes.

Connor was about to exaggerate how whipped Percy and Grover were but then he remembered how Annabeth had looked earlier on and decided for once that he would let an oppurtunity go.

**Cerberus started to growl.**

**"Stay!" Annabeth ordered the monster. "If you want the ball, stay!"**

**Cerberus whimpered, but he stayed where he was.**

**"What about you?" I asked Annabeth as we passed her.**

**"I know what I'm doing, Percy," she muttered. "At least, I'm pretty sure..."**

"That's not very reassuring." Chris muttered.

**Grover and I walked between the monster's legs.**

**Please, Annabeth, I prayed. Don't tell him to sit again.**

Poseidon nodded furiously.

**We made it through. Cerberus wasn't any less scary-looking from the back.**

**Annabeth said, "Good dog!"**

**She held up the tattered red ball, and probably came to the same conclusion I did—if she rewarded Cerberus, there'd be nothing left for another trick.**

**She threw the ball anyway. The monster's left mouth immediately snatched it up, only to be attacked by the middle head, while the right head moaned in protest.**

Hades hung his head. "My ferocious dog has been turned into a grade A softy by a twelve year-old." He face-palmed.

**While the monster was distracted, Annabeth walked briskly under its belly and joined us at the metal detector.**

**"How did you do that?" I asked her, amazed.**

**"Obedience school," she said breathlessly, and I was surprised to see there were tears in her eyes.**

**"When I was little, at my dad's house, we had a Doberman... ."**

Some people raised an eyebrow at Annabeth.

**"Never mind that," Grover said, tugging at my shirt. "Come on!"**

**We were about to bolt through the EZ DEATH line when Cerberus moaned pitifully from all three mouths. Annabeth stopped.**

**She turned to face the dog, which had done a one-eighty to look at us.**

**Cerberus panted expectantly, the tiny red ball in pieces in a puddle of drool at its feet.**

"Eww."

**"Good boy," Annabeth said, but her voice sounded melancholy and uncertain.**

**The monster's heads turned sideways, as if worried about her.**

**"I'll bring you another ball soon," Annabeth promised faintly. "Would you like that?"**

"Too bad that never happened." Annabeth muttered. The silence in the room was overbearing and the goddesses glanced at her sympathetically.

**The monster whimpered. I didn't need to speak dog to know Cerberus was still waiting for the ball.**

**"Good dog. I'll come visit you soon. I—I promise." Annabeth turned to us. "Let's go."**

Annabeth sighed.

**Grover and I pushed through the metal detector, which immediately screamed and set off flashing red lights. "Unauthorized possessions! Magic detected!"**

"Oh great."

**Cerberus started to bark.**

**We burst through the EZ DEATH gate, which started even more alarms blaring, and raced into the Underworld.**

**A few minutes later, we were hiding, out of breath, in the rotten trunk of an immense black tree as security ghouls scuttled past, yelling for backup from the Furies.**

**Grover murmured, "Well, Percy, what have we learned today?"**

**"That three-headed dogs prefer red rubber balls over sticks?"**

"That's true." Hades muttered absent-mindedly.

**"No," Grover told me. "We've learned that your plans really, really bite!"**

Thalia smiled. "I knew it."

**I wasn't sure about that. I thought maybe Annabeth and I had both had the right idea. Even here in the Underworld, everybody—even monster—needed a little attention once in a while.**

**I thought about that as we waited for the ghouls to pass. I pretended not to see Annabeth wipe a tear from her cheek as she listened to the mournful keening of Cerberus in the distance, longing for his new friend.**

Demeter shook her head. _This book was extremely depressing._

"Let's stop here today." Zeus said. Ares handed Athena the book and flashed out before any one else could.

Everyone raised an eyebrow. They were surprised that Ares didn't try to take Aphrodite from Hephaestus.

As everyone started to leave the throne room Aphrodite turned to Annabeth hoping that she could talk to her because she seemed really sad but Annabeth was already out the door and heading to her room.


	22. The Truth, Sort Of

Annabeth woke up early the next day and lay still in her bed. Every day she'd wake up from what could possibly the best dream in her life and then reality would come crashing down and she'd feel completely and utterly crestfallen. She figured that today they would finish reading the books. She realized that everyday they read four chapters. Sighing, she got up and got ready for her day.

* * *

><p>"<strong>We Find out the Truth, Sort of," <strong>Hephaestus read.

Nico furrowed his eyebrows. "Okay, even I don't know what that means and I can't think of an explanation for it."

Nearly everyone gasped. "Really?" Rachel said sarcastically. "Nico-the explainer-di Angelo doesn't have an explanation?"

Nico disregarded the sarcastic tone in Rachel's voice. "The explainer, huh? That has a nice ring to it..."

Demeter looked at Nico and shook her head. "Unbelievable."

**Imagine the largest concert crowd you've ever seen, a foot ball field packed with a million fans.**

**Now imagine a field a million times that big, **

"Wow. That's one thing I can't imagine." Athena said.

**packed with people, and imagine the electricity has gone out, and there is no noise, no light, no beach ball bouncing around over the crowd. Something tragic has happened backstage. Whispering masses of people are just milling around in the shadows, waiting for a concert that will never start.**

Apollo groaned and brought out a yellow ball that radiated heat. He pressed it to his face and sighed, "Nice memories, happy memories..."

**If you can picture that, **

"No."

**you have a pretty good idea what the Fields of Asphodel looked like. **

Ares scowled. _No action at all...so boring...so...boring..._

**The black grass had been trampled by eons of dead feet. A warm, moist wind blew like the breath of a swamp. Black trees—Grover told me they were poplars—grew in clumps here and there.**

Zeus snorted. "You all say I'm dramatic but Hades really goes over board with how he designs the Underworld."

"You _are_ dramatic Zeus. Don't try to downgrade yourself just because my domain is so freakishly awesome."

**The cavern ceiling was so high above us it might've been a bank of storm clouds, except for the stalactites, which glowed faint gray and looked wickedly pointed. I tried not to imagine they'd fall on us at any moment,**

Hades grinned. "That's what I love about it."

**but dotted around the fields were several that had fallen and impaled themselves in the black grass. I guess the dead didn't have to worry about little hazards like being speared by stalactites the size of booster rockets.**

"No, really..." Clarisse said sarcastically.

**Annabeth, Grover, and I tried to blend into the crowd, **

"Isn't that impossible? Aren't the dead transparent any ways?" Leo asked.

Hades shrugged. "If they all stand together in a huddle they look solid, almost human."

Nico frowned. He remembered Bianca's transparent face when he was saying goodbye to her. Wouldn't the books talk about how she died? He knew he wasn't ready for that.

**keeping an eye out for security ghouls. I couldn't help looking for familiar faces among the spirits of Asphodel,**

"Why would he do that?" Chris asked.

Thalia frowned. "Force of habit." She remembered when she was with Nico and Percy recovering the swords of Hades. She had looked to see if her mother was among the dead and if Jason was there also. She remembered when she was ten in the park running around and trying to find Jason. She was glad that he was alive.

**but the dead are hard to look at. Their faces shimmer. They all look slightly angry or confused. They will come up to you and speak, but their voices sound like chatter, like bats twittering. Once they realize you can't understand them, they frown and move away.**

**The dead aren't scary. They're just sad.**

Nico nodded along with Hades.

**We crept along, following the line of new arrivals that snaked from the main gates toward a black-tented pavilion with a banner that read:**

_**JUDGMENTS FOR ELYSIUM AND ETERNAL DAMNATION**_

_**Welcome, Newly Deceased!**_

"That is the weirdest banner that I've ever read. I mean it starts out all strict and demanding and then goes to a happy mood all of a sudden. That's just not right." Connor said.

Katie knit her eyebrows. "So, their should be a different way they greet you in the Underworld?"

Connor nodded. "They should greet you with a nice lady holding free orange juice. Yeah..."

Travis looked at Hades. "Don't pay attention to him. He's had an addiction to orange juice since he was two and he dropped it on his shirt."

"I'm telling you," Connor started. "It has magical powers." Then in a stage whisper he added. "Yesterday, it turned Nico into a space alien."

Everyone looked at him weirdly while Nico sighed. "Connor, just because the orange juice spilled on my shirt yesterday and turned it a different color does not mean that it turned me into a space alien okay?"

**Out the back of the tent came two much smaller lines.**

**To the left, spirits flanked by security ghouls were marched down a rocky path toward the Fields of Punishment, which glowed and smoked in the distance, a vast, cracked wasteland with rivers of lava and minefields and miles of barbed wire separating the different torture areas. Even from far away, I could see people being chased by hellhounds, burned at the stake, forced to run naked through cactus patches or listen to opera music.**

"That's horrible." Piper said.

"I know right." Nico replied. "They're gonna die listening to that opera music."

Thalia knit her eyebrows. "Nico they're already dead."

"... Right..."

**I could just make out a tiny hill, with the ant-size figure of Sisyphus struggling to move his boulder to the top. **

Thalia frowned and absent-mindedly rubbed her shoulders.

**And I saw worse tortures, too—things I don't want to describe.**

The sun was suddenly covered by a cloud bank rolling in.

**The line coming from the right side of the judgment pavilion was much better. This one led down toward a small valley surrounded by walls—a gated community, which seemed to be the only happy part of the Underworld. Beyond the security gate were neighborhoods of beautiful houses from every time period in history, Roman villas and medieval castles and Victorian mansions. Silver and gold flowers bloomed on the lawns. The grass rippled in rainbow colors. I could hear laughter and smell barbecue cooking.**

The demigods sighed in a dreamlike state. "Elysium..."

**Elysium.**

**In the middle of that valley was a glittering blue lake, with three small islands like a vacation resort in the Bahamas. The Isles of the Blest, **

Another chorus of sighs erupted around the room.

**for people who had chosen to be reborn three times, and three times achieved Elysium. Immediately I knew that's where I wanted to go when I died.**

**"That's what it's all about," Annabeth said, like she was reading my thoughts. "That's the place for heroes."**

**But I thought of how few people there were in Elysium, how tiny it was compared to the Fields of Asphodel or even the Fields of Punishment. So few people did good in their lives. It was depressing.**

**We left the judgment pavilion and moved deeper into the Asphodel Fields. It got darker. The colors faded from our clothes. The crowds of chattering spirits began to thin.**

Hephaestus tried to read on but he was suddenly aware that someone was snoring. "Who's doing that?"

Everyone turned to see Apollo knocked out cold on his throne. Hermes shook his head, "Poor lad. Couldn't take the depression."

Artemis smirked and pulled out a camera. "Don't touch him. This is going to be great for blackmail."

Apollo shifted in his chair. "The poodle shaves my back..."

"What?"

Artemis shook her head and kept recording.

**After a few miles of walking, we began to hear a familiar screech in the distance. Looming on the horizon was a palace of glittering black obsidian. Above the parapets swirled three dark batlike creatures: the Furies. I got the feeling they were waiting for us.**

**"I suppose it's too late to turn back," Grover said wistfully.**

**"We'll be okay." I tried to sound confident.**

**"Maybe we should search some of the other places first," Grover suggested. "Like, Elysium, for instance …"**

Katie shook his head. "Of course he would say that."

**"Come on, goat boy." **

Connor, Travis, and Chris smiled.

**Annabeth grabbed his arm.**

**Grover yelped. His sneakers sprouted wings and his legs shot forward, pulling him away from Annabeth. He landed flat on his back in the grass.**

Annabeth frowned. She remembered what happened next.

**"Grover," Annabeth chided. "Stop messing around."**

**"But I didn't—"**

**He yelped again. His shoes were flapping like crazy now. They levitated off the ground and started dragging him away from us.**

_**"Maia!" **_**he yelled, but the magic word seemed to have no effect. **_**"Maia, **_**already! Nine-one-one! Help!"**

"Oh sure," Hermes started. "Like mortal police are just going to appear out of nowhere and help him."

Hades shrugged. "Actually, one of the spirits there could be a former police man."

"Oh. I never thought of it that way."

**I got over being stunned and made a grab for Grover's hand, but it was too late. He was picking up speed, skidding downhill like a bobsled.**

Leo smiled. "We should do that tomorrow. It's still snowing outside."

Hephaestus nodded. "There's a giant hill behind the palace where Khione, the snow goddess likes to hang out."

At the mention of the snow goddess Piper, Leo, Thalia, and Jason scowled.

"She's not going to be there for the rest of the winter because she's going to stay with her dad in Quebec so you guys are welcome to play around there." Hephaestus continued.

**We ran after him.**

**Annabeth shouted, "Untie the shoes!"**

**It was a smart idea, but I guess it's not so easy when your shoes are pulling you along feet first at full speed. Grover tried to sit up, but he couldn't get close to the laces.**

Thalia grew worried for Grover. She wondered what was going on with the shoe laces.

**We kept after him, trying to keep him in sight as he ripped between the legs of spirits who chattered at him in annoyance.**

**I was sure Grover was going to barrel straight through the gates of Hades's palace, but his shoes veered sharply to the right and dragged him in the opposite direction.**

Hades' eyes bugged out. _Tartarus..._

**The slope got steeper. Grover picked up speed. Annabeth and I had to sprint to keep up. The cavern walls narrowed on either side, and I realized we'd entered some kind of side tunnel. No black grass or trees now, just rock underfoot, and the dim light of the stalactites above.**

**"Grover!" I yelled, my voice echoing. "Hold on to something!"**

**"What?" he yelled back.**

**He was grabbing at gravel, but there was nothing big enough to slow him down.**

Everyone sat in silence as they listened to what Grover was going through.

"You know," Nico started. "If this was a scary movie, I'd be laughing at the expresion of the person's face as they get dragged to the monster's lair and eaten... but this is too much."

Piper looked at Nico. "You _laugh_ when the person gets dragged away?"

Nico nodded. "Don't you guys do the same thing?"

"No."

Nico shrugged. "It makes the movie seem less scary."

**The tunnel got darker and colder. The hairs on my arms bristled. It smelled evil down here. It made me think of things I shouldn't even know about—blood spilled on an ancient stone altar, the foul breath of a murderer.**

"Uh-huh..." Hermes said. One of his eyebrows were raised and his jaw was hanging open. "That's... interesting?"

At Hades' nod Hermes looked at him like, _You really are insane aren't you? Don't answer that question._

**Then I saw what was ahead of us, and I stopped dead in my tracks.**

**The tunnel widened into a huge dark cavern, and in the middle was a chasm the size of a city block.**

"Tartarus." Demeter breathed. The air got tense.

Ares frowned. "I met him before. He is _not_ a nice guy. He get's offended at every word I say. I'll say hi and he'll be all like 'Hi? What, I'm not good enough for you to say hello to? Is there a problem Ares?' He got on my nerves with that."

**Grover was sliding straight toward the edge.**

**"Come on, Percy!" Annabeth yelled, tugging at my wrist.**

**"But that's—"**

**"I know!" she shouted. "The place you described in your dream! But Grover's going to fall if we don't catch him." She was right, of course. **

"Duh."

**Grover's predicament got me moving again.**

**He was yelling, clawing at the ground, but the winged shoes kept dragging him toward the pit, and it didn't look like we could possibly get to him in time.**

Thalia knit her eyebrows. _Then how come Grover's still alive?_

**What saved him were his hooves.**

**The flying sneakers had always been a loose fit on him, and finally Grover hit a big rock and the left shoe came flying off. It sped into the darkness, down into the chasm. The right shoe kept tugging him along, but not as fast. Grover was able to slow himself down by grabbing on to the big rock and using it like an anchor.**

Thalia sighed in relief. Zeus scowled. _So close. That satyr would've been thrown into Tartarus and he wouldn't have had to deal with it anymore._

**He was ten feet from the edge of the pit when we caught him and hauled him back up the slope. **

Zeus' scowl deepened.

"Dad."

"I know."

**The other winged shoe tugged itself off, circled around us angrily and kicked our heads in protest **

Nico started chuckling again. "Shoes with and attitude. I should totally get shoes like that. I'll have to be careful where I wear them though."

**before flying off into the chasm to join its twin.**

Aphrodite frowned. "Shoe suicide _is_ the leading cause of shoe deaths in the mythical world. I always heard of it but I never actually heard _how_ it happened."

While everyone else stole accusing psychotic glances at Aphrodite (they didn't want her to get mad, she was too tempermental) Athena looked at Aphrodite with new respect. She knew Aphrodite was smart but she also knew that Aphrodite would never study such a thing as statistics. Maybe there was hope after all.

**We all collapsed, exhausted, on the obsidian gravel. My limbs felt like lead. Even my backpack seemed heavier, as if somebody had filled it with rocks.**

Athena cocked her head to the side.

**Grover was scratched up pretty bad. His hands were bleeding. His eyes had gone slit-pupiled, goat style, the way they did whenever he was terrified.**

Chris smiled. "I love when they do that! They look like cats that hit the happy juice too hard."

Nico shook his head. "And you say I'm weird."

**"I don't know how ..." he panted. "I didn't..."**

**"Wait," I said. "Listen."**

**I heard something—a deep whisper in the darkness.**

**Another few seconds, and Annabeth said, "Percy, this place—"**

**"Shh." I stood.**

**The sound was getting louder, a muttering, evil voice from far, far below us. Coming from the pit.**

The Olympians shivered.

**Grover sat up. "Wh—what's that noise?"**

**Annabeth heard it too, now. I could see it in her eyes. "Tartarus. The entrance to Tartarus." I uncapped Anaklusmos.**

**The bronze sword expanded, gleaming in the darkness, and the evil voice seemed to falter, just for a moment, before resuming its chant.**

Artemis' eyes widened. "Magic. They need to get out of there now."

**I could almost make out words now, ancient, ancient words, older even than Greek. As if ...**

**"Magic," I said.**

**"We have to get out of here," Annabeth said.**

Poseidon nodded.

**Together, we dragged Grover to his hooves and started back up the tunnel. My legs wouldn't move fast enough. My backpack weighed me down.**

"Again with the backpack..."

**The voice got louder and angrier behind us, and we broke into a run.**

**Not a moment too soon.**

**A cold blast of wind pulled at our backs, as if the entire pit were inhaling. For a terrifying moment, I lost ground, my feet slipping in the gravel. If we'd been any closer to the edge, we would've been sucked in.**

**We kept struggling forward, and finally reached the top of the tunnel, where the cavern widened out into the Fields of Asphodel. The wind died. A wail of outrage echoed from deep in the tunnel. Something was not happy we'd gotten away.**

Athena and Poseidon sighed in relief.

**"What **_**was **_**that?" Grover panted, when ****we'd ****collapsed in the relative safety of a black poplar grove. "One of Hades' pets?"**

**Annabeth and I looked at each other. I could tell she was nursing an idea, probably the same one she'd gotten during the taxi ride to L.A., but she was too scared to share it. That was enough to terrify me.**

"It's terrifying us right now."

**I capped my sword, put the pen back in my pocket. "Let's keep going." I looked at Grover. "Can you walk?"**

**He swallowed. "Yeah, sure. I never liked those shoes, anyway."**

**He tried to sound brave about it, but he was trembling as badly as Annabeth and I were. Whatever was in that pit was nobody's pet. **

Annabeth rolled her eyes and smiled a little. _Nobody's pet._

**It was unspeakably old and powerful. **

A shiver ran up the spines of everyone present.

**Even Echidna hadn't given me that feeling. I was almost relieved ******to turn my back on that tunnel and head toward the palace of Hades.****

"Almost?" Hades questioned. "Anyone should be completely relieved to come to my palace after what they just went through."

**Almost.**

**The Furies circled the parapets, high in the gloom. The outer walls of the fortress glittered black, and the two-story-tall bronze gates stood wide open.**

Ares furrowed his eyebrows. "So, no guards or anything? It's _that_ easy to come into your palace?"

"_Easy?_" Athena said. "You call that _easy_?"

Hades shrugged. "That was pretty easy if you ask me."

He was attacked by a swarm of owls.

**Up close, I saw that the engravings on the gates were scenes of death. Some were from modern times—an atomic bomb exploding over a city, **

"Hiroshima."

**a trench filled with gas mask-wearing soldiers, a line of African famine victims waiting with empty bowls—but all of them looked as if they'd been etched into the bronze thousands of years ago. I wondered if I was looking at prophecies that had come true.**

"Yeah."

**Inside the courtyard was the strangest garden I'd ever seen. **

Nico humphed at the mention of Persephone's garden.

**Multicolored mushrooms, poisonous shrubs, and weird luminous plants grew without sunlight. Precious jewels made up for the lack of flowers, piles of rubies as big as my fist, clumps of raw diamonds. **

"How much money would that be?" Hermes marveled.

Hades shrugged. "I haven't really been in that garden in a long time."

**Standing here and there like frozen party guests were Medusa's garden statues— petrified children, satyrs, and centaurs—all smiling grotesquely.**

**In the center of the garden was an orchard of pomegranate trees, **

Demeter's face turned sour.

**their orange blooms neon bright in the dark. "The garden of Persephone," Annabeth said. "Keep walking."**

**I understood why she wanted to move on. The tart smell of those pomegranates was almost overwhelming. I had a sudden desire to eat them, but then I remembered the story of Persephone. One bite of Underworld food, and we would never be able to leave.**

Hades face-palmed. "That would be completely horrible."

Jason looked up. "It would be horrible for them to eat the pomegranate?"

"No. It'd be horrible for me because I would have to deal with them until they died." He ignored the glares being sent towards him.

**I pulled Grover away to keep him from picking a big juicy one.**

Dionysus nodded.

**We walked up the steps of the palace, between black columns, through a black marble portico, and into the house of Hades. The entry hall had a polished bronze floor, which seemed to boil in the reflected torchlight.**

"Eagles eat dandelions..." Apollo muttered.

**There was no ceiling, just the cavern roof, far above. I guess they never had to worry about rain down here.**

Hades rolled his eyes. "No, really?"

**Every side doorway was guarded by a skeleton in military gear. Some wore Greek armor, some British redcoat uniforms, some camouflage with tattered American flags on the shoulders. They carried spears or muskets or M-16s. None of them bothered us, but their hollow eye sockets followed us as we walked down the hall, toward the big set of doors at the opposite end.**

**Two U.S. Marine skeletons guarded the doors. They grinned down at us, rocket-propelled grenade launchers held across their chests.**

"Yes Mr. Pidgeon. I shall do what you command." Apollo said. He got up and started sleep walking but Dionysus made some grape vines surround his waist and pull him down.

**"You know," Grover mumbled, "I bet Hades doesn't have trouble with door-to-door salesmen."**

"Huh." Zeus said. "I never thought about that."

**My backpack weighed a ton now.**

**I couldn't figure out why. I wanted to open it, check to see if I had somehow picked up a stray bowling ball, but this wasn't the time.**

"Why do they keep on mentioning that?" Katie asked.

Clarisse shrugged. "A backpack with extra clothes and some food isn't that heavy. What's going on?"

They all turned to Annabeth. "Just keep reading."

**"Well, guys," I said. "I suppose we should ... knock?"**

**A hot wind blew down the corridor, and the doors swung open. The guards stepped aside.**

**"I guess that means **_**entrez-vous," **_**Annabeth said.**

"What?"

"Enter." Piper answered. "It's French."

"Oh."

**The room inside looked just like in my dream, except this time the throne of Hades was occupied.**

**He was the third god I'd met, but the first who really struck me as godlike.**

Hades grinned maniacally.

**He was at least ten feet tall, for one thing, and dressed in black silk robes and a crown of braided gold. His skin was albino white, his hair shoulder-length and jet black. He wasn't bulked up like Ares, but he radiated power. He lounged on his throne of fused human bones, looking lithe, graceful, and dangerous as a panther.**

"You know what Poseidon? I like your son. That's a nice description."

**I immediately felt like he should be giving the orders. He knew more than I did. He should be my master.**

"_Yes. I should be your_-OW! What was that for?"

Demeter rolled her eyes. "You were talking like a snake and creeping everyone out."

Hades glanced around the room to find almost everyone with a pale face.

**Then I told myself to snap out of it.**

Hades pouted.

**Hades's aura was affecting me, just as Ares's had. The Lord of the Dead resembled pictures I'd seen of Adolph Hitler, or Napoleon, or the terrorist leaders who direct suicide bombers. Hades had the same intense eyes, the same kind of mesmerizing, evil charisma.**

"Whoa..." Hermes sung. "Creepy..."

**"You are brave to come here, Son of Poseidon," he said in an oily voice. **

"Oily?"

**"After what you have done to me, very brave indeed. Or perhaps you are simply very foolish."**

"What do you mean 'after what you have done to me'?" Athena asked.

"I don't know." Hades answered. "This is in the future."

**Numbness crept into my joints, tempting me to lie down and just take a little nap at Hades's feet. Curl up here and sleep forever.**

"I now understand why Apollo fainted." Leo said.

**I fought the feeling and stepped forward. I knew what I had to say. "Lord and Uncle, I come with two requests."**

"It's not really smart to ask for requests when he's mad at you." Connor said. He glanced at Hades and found that the god's upper lip was twitching.

**Hades raised an eyebrow. When he sat forward in his throne, shadowy faces appeared in the folds of his black robes, faces of torment, as if the garment were stitched of trapped souls from the Fields of Punishment, trying to get out. The ADHD part of me wondered, off-task, **

"Of course."

**whether the rest of his clothes were made the same way. **

"No."

**What horrible things would you have to do in your life to get woven into Hades's underwear?**

All of the girls scrunched up their noses while the boys rolled on the floor laughing and trying to breath.

**"Only two requests?" Hades said. "Arrogant child. As if you have not already taken enough. Speak, then. It amuses me not to strike you dead yet."**

Poseidon glared at Hades.

**I swallowed. This was going about as well as I'd feared.**

"That's good then." Apollo said. Everyone was startled.

Artemis frowned and put her camera away. "When'd you wake up?"

"About thirty seconds ago when you guys were laughing."

**I glanced at the empty, smaller throne next to Hades's. It was shaped like a black flower, gilded with gold. **

Demeter smiled. _My kore..._

**I wished Queen Persephone were here. **

"So do I." Hades muttered.

**I recalled something in the myths about how she could calm her ****husband's moods.**

**But it was summer. Of course, Persephone would be above in the world of light with her mother, the goddess of agriculture, Demeter. Her visits, not the tilt of the planet, create the seasons.**

Travis sighed. "If only that was what they taught you in science class. I'd probably get a B+ if they did that."

"Why a B+?" Connor asked.

"Well I'd still have dyslexia and ADHD."

**Annabeth cleared her throat. Her finger prodded me in the back.**

**"Lord Hades," I said. "Look, sir, there can't be a war among the gods. It would be ... bad."**

"That's putting it in light terms." Zeus muttered.

**"Really bad," Grover added helpfully.**

**"Return Zeus's master bolt to me," I said. "Please, sir. Let me carry it to Olympus."**

Zeus nodded. He wished that Hades actually _did_ have the master bolt and that they wouldn't have to see that creep show of a dad again.

**Hades's eyes grew dangerously bright. "You dare keep up this pretense, after what you have done?"**

"What?"

**I glanced back at my friends. They looked as confused as I was.**

**"Um ... Uncle," I said. "You keep saying 'after what you've done.' What exactly have I done?"**

**The throne room shook with a tremor so strong, they probably felt it upstairs in Los Angeles. **

"And now we know why Los Angeles has so many earthquakes." Hephaestus muttered. He glanced at Hades, who was in deep thought and frowning.

**Debris fell from the cavern ceiling. Doors burst open all along the walls, and skeletal warriors marched in, hundreds of them, from every time period and nation in Western civilization. They lined the perimeter of the room, blocking the exits.**

**Hades bellowed, "Do you think I **_**want **_**war, godling?"**

"Yes." Hades scowled and looked like he was about to start a rant but Hephaestus kept reading.

**I wanted to say, **_**Well, these guys don't look like peace activists.**_

"Nope."

**But I thought that might be a dangerous answer.**

"No, really?"

**"You are the Lord of the Dead," I said carefully. "A war would expand your kingdom, right?"**

**"A typical thing for my brothers to say! Do you think I need more subjects? Did you not see the sprawl of the Asphodel Fields?"**

Poseidon and Zeus shrugged. "Well..."

**"Well..."**

**"Have you any idea how much my kingdom has swollen in this past century alone, how many subdivisions I've had to open?"**

"No..."

**I opened my mouth to respond, but Hades was on a roll now.**

**"More security ghouls," he moaned. "Traffic problems at the judgment pavilion. Double overtime for the staff. I used to be a rich god, Percy Jackson. **

Hermes looked at Hades disbelievingly. "What do you mean 'used to be'? Have you seen Persephone's garden? there's more diamonds there than Aphrodite's mansion."

Hades shrugged. "That's actually only a little bit of many."

Hermes' jaw hung open.

**I control all the precious metals under the earth. But my expenses!"**

**"Charon wants a pay raise," I blurted, just remembering the fact.**

Thalia face-palmed. "That's not going to help anyone."

**As soon as I said it, I wished I could sew up my mouth.**

"I do to." Poseidon groaned.

**"Don't get me started on Charon!" Hades yelled. "He's been impossible ever since he discovered Italian suits! Problems everywhere, and I've got to handle all of them personally. The commute time alone from the palace to the gates is enough to drive me insane! And the dead just keep arriving. **_**No, **_**godling. I need no help getting subjects! I did not ask for this war."**

"Oh."

"_Yes!" _Hades hissed. "Ohhhh." He mimicked everyone else. "I did not. Take. The. Master. Bolt."

**"But you took Zeus's master bolt."**

Hades face-palmed.

**"Lies!" More rumbling. Hades rose from his throne, towering to the height of a football goalpost. **

"Wow. So intimidating."

**"Your father may fool Zeus, boy, but I am not so stupid. **

"Hey!" Zeus protested. "I'm not stupid."

Hades gave Zeus a look but didn't say anything.

"I'm not." Zeus whined.

"Read Hephaestus."

**I see his plan."**

**"His plan?"**

_**"You **_**were the thief on the winter solstice," he said. "Your father thought to keep you his little secret. He directed you into the throne room on Olympus, You took the master bolt **_**and **_**my helmet.**

"What?"

Hades paled considerably. "My _helmet_?"

"Oh no." Demeter sighed. "Here comes the speech."

"M-my helmet was t-taken. I'll pulverize the freak who took it!" Hades sniffed and took out his helm of darkness. Apollo shrunk away from it.

"I learned how to ride a bike with this and how to play football with this and how to ride a motorcycle with it and how to joust with it and how to crash test a car with it and..."

Demeter sighed. "Keep reading Hephaestus."

"BUT I'M NOT DONE YET!"

**Had I not sent my Fury to discover you at Yancy Academy, Poseidon might have succeeded in hiding his scheme to start a war. **

Poseidon sighed.

**But now you have been forced into the open. You will be exposed as Poseidon's thief, and I will have my helmet back!"**

**"But ..." Annabeth spoke. I could tell her mind was going a million miles an hour. "Lord Hades, your helmet of darkness is missing, too?"**

**"Do not play innocent with me, girl. You and the satyr have been helping this hero—coming here to threaten me in Poseidon's name, no doubt—**

"Oh sure," Poseidon said sarcastically. "Three little kids who have nothing but a knife and a sword came all the way to the Underworld to threaten a super powerful god."

Hades glared at him.

**to bring me an ultimatum. Does Poseidon think I can be blackmailed into supporting him?"**

**"No!" I said. "Poseidon didn't—I didn't—"**

"Exactly."

**"I have said nothing of the helmet's disappearance," Hades snarled, "because I had no illusions that anyone on Olympus would offer me the slightest justice, the slightest help. **

Hades glared at the remaining Olympians.

**I can ill afford for word to get out that my most powerful weapon of fear is missing.**

Nico nodded along with his dad.

**So I searched for you myself, and when it was clear you were coming to me to deliver your threat, I did not try to stop you."**

**"You didn't try to stop us? But—"**

**"Return my helmet now, or I will stop death," Hades threatened. "That is my counterproposal. I ****will open the earth and have the dead pour back into the world. I will make your lands a nightmare. And you, Percy Jackson—**_**your **_**skeleton will lead my army out of Hades."**

Several jaws went slack.

**The skeletal soldiers all took one step forward, making their weapons ready.**

**At that point, I probably should have been terrified. The strange thing was, I felt offended. Nothing gets me angrier than being accused of something I didn't do. I've had a lot of experience with that.**

Thalia shook her head. "Enter: Percy's sharp and quick-witted tongue that will get him in more trouble in the future."

**"You're as bad as Zeus," I said. "You think I stole from you? That's why you sent the Furies after me?"**

Zeus and Hades frowned. Demeter shrugged. "What do expect? They're brothers."

**"Of course," Hades said.**

**"And the other monsters?"**

**Hades curled his lip. "I had nothing to do with them. I wanted no quick death for you—I wanted you brought before me alive so you might face every torture in the Fields of Punishment. Why do you think I let you enter my kingdom so easily?"**

_**"Easily?"**_

Athena shook her head.

**"Return my property!"**

**"But I don't have your helmet. I came for the master bolt."**

**"Which you already possess!" Hades shouted. "You came here with it, little fool, thinking you could threaten me!"**

**"But I didn't!"**

**"Open your pack, then."**

**A horrible feeling struck me. The weight in my backpack, like a bowling ball. It couldn't be...**

Zeus sat up abruptly. Everyone was leaning forward in their seats.

**I slung it off my shoulder and unzipped it**_**. **_**Inside was a two-foot-long metal cylinder, spiked on both ends, humming with energy.**

Zeus grinned so broadly that he started to resemble Hades a little.

**"Percy," Annabeth said. "How—"**

**"I—I don't know. I don't understand."**

**"You heroes are always the same," Hades said. "Your pride makes you foolish, thinking you could bring such a weapon before me. I did not ask for Zeus's master bolt, but since it is here, you will yield it to me. I am sure it will make an excellent bargaining tool. **

Zeus frowned. "Really? Like you would seriously do that?"

Hades shrugged. "They have it right there. Why not?"

**And now ... my helmet. Where is it?"**

**I was speechless. I had no helm. I had no idea how the master bolt had gotten into my backpack. I wanted to think Hades was pulling some kind of trick. Hades was the bad guy.**

Hades scowled. "But i'm obviously not."

Ares' eyes shot open. He realized what was going on. Was he to blame for all of this? How could he not see this trick coming? He was the war god after all.

**But suddenly the world turned sideways. I r****ealized I'd been played with. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades had been set at each other's throats by someone else. The master bolt had been in the backpack, and I'd gotten the backpack from ...**

"Ares!"

All eyes turned to the war god, who tried extremely hard to ignore the three menacing pairs of eyes glaring at him.

**"Lord Hades, wait," I said. "This is all a mistake."**

**"A mistake?" Hades roared.**

**The skeletons aimed their weapons. From high above, there was a fluttering of leathery wings, and the three Furies swooped down to perch on the back of their master's throne. The one with Mrs. Dodds's face grinned at me eagerly and flicked her whip.**

"Creepy..."

**"There is no mistake," Hades said. "I know why you have come—I know the **_**real **_**reason you brought the bolt. You came to bargain for **_**her**_**."**

"Who?"

**Hades loosed a ball of gold fire from his palm. It exploded on the steps in front of me, and there was my mother, frozen in a shower of gold, just as she was at the moment when the Minotaur began to squeeze her to death.**

Poseidon's eyes shot open. He was ashamed to say that he had been so caught up in the book that he had forgotten about Sally.

**I couldn't speak. I reached out to touch her, but the light was as hot as a bonfire.**

**"Yes," Hades said with satisfaction. "I took her. I knew, Percy Jackson, that you would come to bargain with me eventually. Return my helmet, and perhaps I will let her go. She is not dead, you know. Not yet. But if you displease me, that will change."**

Hades ignored the glare being sent to him.

**I thought about the pearls in my pocket. Maybe they could get me out of this. If I could just get my mom free...**

**"Ah, the pearls," Hades said, and my blood froze.**

**"Yes, my brother and his little tricks. **

"Brilliant tricks, mind you."

**Bring them forth, Percy Jackson."**

**My hand moved against my will and brought out the pearls.**

**"Only three," Hades said. "What a shame. You do realize each only protects a single person. Try to take your mother, then, little godling. And which of your friends will you leave behind to spend eternity with me? Go on. Choose. Or give me the backpack and accept my terms."**

All of Poseidon's hair turned white.

**I looked at Annabeth and Grover. Their faces were grim.**

**"We were tricked," I told them. "Set up."**

**"Yes, but why?" Annabeth asked. "And the voice in the pit—"**

**"I don't know yet," I said. "But I intend to ask."**

**"Decide, boy!" Hades yelled.**

**"Percy." Grover put his hand on my shoulder. "You can't give him the bolt."**

Zeus shook his head. "For once, the satyr is making sense."

**"I know that."**

**"Leave me here," he said. "Use the third pearl on your mom."**

**"No!"**

**"I'm a satyr," Grover said. "We don't have souls like humans do. He can torture me until I die, but he won't get me forever. I'll just be reincarnated as a flower or something. It's the best way."**

**"No." Annabeth drew her bronze knife. "You two go on. Grover, you have to protect Percy. You have to get your searcher's license and start your quest for Pan. Get his mom out of here. I'll cover you. I plan to go down fighting."**

Ares grinned wildly along with Jason. "That's what I'm talking about! Go down fighting!"

His form changed to Mars and then back to Ares again. Annabeth rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. She noticed the worried look that her mom had.

**"No way," Grover said. "I'm staying behind."**

**"Think again, goat boy," Annabeth said.**

**"Stop it, both of you!" I felt like my heart was being ripped in two. They had both been with me through so much. I remembered Grover dive-bombing Medusa in the statue garden, **

Connor and Travis high-fived. "That was _so_ cool!"

**and Annabeth saving us from Cerberus; **

Ares nodded respectfully at Annabeth.

**we'd survived Hephaestus's Waterland ride, **

Aphrodite grinned knowingly at Annabeth.

**the St. Louis Arch, **

Athena frowned.

**the Lotus Casino. I had spent thousands of miles worried that I'd be betrayed by a friend, but these friends would never do that.**

**They had done nothing but save me, over and over, and now they wanted to sacrifice their lives for my mom.**

**"I know what to do," I said. "Take these."**

**I handed them each a pearl.**

**Annabeth said, "But, Percy ..."**

**I turned and faced my mother. I desperately wanted to sacrifice myself and use the last pearl on her, but I knew what she would say. She would never allow it. I had to get the bolt back to Olympus and tell Zeus the truth. I had to stop the war. She would never forgive me if I saved her instead. I thought about the prophecy made at Half-Blood Hill, what seemed like a million years ago. **_**You will fail to save what matters most in the end.**_

Zeus sighed in relief while everyone else frowned.

"He had to leave his mom." Athena frowned. For a second she taught he would sacrifice himself to save her.

**"I'm sorry," I told her. "I'll be back. I'll find a way."**

**The smug look on Hades's face faded. He said, "Godling ... ?"**

Hades frowned. _The sea spawn has got to be kidding._

**"I'll find your helmet, Uncle," I told him. "I'll return it. Remember about Charon's pay raise."**

"Again with that stupid pay raise?"

**"Do not defy me—"**

**"And it wouldn't hurt to play with Cerberus once in a while. He likes red rubber balls."**

Nico smiled. "I'll do that."

**"Percy Jackson, you will not—"**

**I shouted, "Now, guys!"**

**We smashed the pearls at our feet. For a scary moment, nothing happened.**

**Hades yelled, "Destroy them!"**

**The army of skeletons rushed forward, swords out, guns clicking to full automatic. The Furies lunged, their whips bursting into flame.**

**Just as the skeletons opened fire, the pearl fragments at my feet exploded with a burst of green light and a gust of fresh sea wind. I was encased in a milky white sphere, which was starting to float off the ground.**

Poseidon sighed in relief.

**Annabeth and Grover were right behind me. Spears and bullets sparked harmlessly off the pearl bubbles as we floated up. Hades yelled with such rage, the entire fortress shook and I knew it was not going to be a peaceful night in L.A.**

"You got that right." Demeter grumbled.

**"Look up.'" Grover yelled. "We're going to crash!"**

**Sure enough, we were racing right toward the stalactites, which I figured would pop our bubbles and skewer us.**

**"How do you control these things?" Annabeth shouted.**

**"I don't think you do!" I shouted back.**

**We screamed as the bubbles slammed into the ceiling and ... Darkness.**

**Were we dead?**

"Hopefully not."

**No, I could still feel the racing sensation. We were going up, right through solid rock as easily as an air bubble in water. That was the power of the pearls, I realized—**_**What belongs to the sea will always return to the sea.**_

"Oh. That makes since now." Nico said.

**For a few moments, I couldn't see anything outside the smooth walls of my sphere, then my pearl broke through on the ocean floor. The two other milky spheres, Annabeth and Grover, kept pace with me as we soared upward through the water. And—**_**ker-blam!**_

**We exploded on the surface, in the middle of the Santa Monica Bay, knocking a surfer off his board with an indignant, "Dude!"**

**I grabbed Grover and hauled him over to a life buoy. I caught Annabeth and dragged her over too. A curious shark was circling us, a great white about eleven feet long.**

**I said, "Beat it."**

**The shark turned and raced away.**

Apollo frowned. "Don't have to be so mean to the shark."

"He just lost a chance at getting his mother back. At least he didn't yell at the shark." Aphrodite said.

**The surfer screamed something about bad mushrooms and paddled away from us as fast as he could.**

"What's with people and bad mushrooms?"

**Somehow, I knew what time it was: early morning, June 21, the day of the summer solstice.**

**In the distance, Los Angeles was on fire, plumes of smoke rising from neighborhoods all over the city. There had been an earthquake, all right, and it was Hades's fault. **

"Someone's mad cause he didn't get things his way." Demeter mumbled.

**He was probably sending an army of the dead after me right now.**

**But at the moment, the Underworld wasn't my biggest problem.**

**I had to get to shore. I had to get Zeus's thunderbolt back to Olympus. Most of all, I had to have a serious conversation with the god who'd tricked me.**

Ares paled a little. Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Athena, _and_ Dionysus were glaring at him.

* * *

><p><strong>Might post a second chapter tonight. Review if you feel like it.<strong>

**Erudite19**


	23. Jerk Relatives

**Two chapters in one day... I'm on a roll! For now... Enjoy.**

* * *

><p>"<strong>I Battle My Jerk Relative," <strong>Athena read.

"Hmm." Thalia said. "I wonder who that is?"

Everyone looked at Ares accusingly and he glared back at them.

"Hmm." Travis mused. "I could use soome beef jerky right now."

His brother salvated along with him.

Nico grabbed his stomach. "You guys are making me hungry."

Katie looked at all three of them. "You _just_ had breakfast. Like three minutes ago."

"So?"

"What's your point?"

"I don't get it?"

**A Coast Guard boat picked us up, ****but they were too busy to keep us for long, or to wonder how three kids in street clothes had gotten out into the middle of the bay. There was a disaster to mop up. Their radios were jammed with distress calls.**

Dionysus sighed fondly. "Ignorant mortals."

**They dropped us off at the Santa Monica Pier with towels around our shoulders and water bottles that said I'M A JUNIOR COAST GUARD! and sped off to save more people.**

**Our clothes were sopping wet, even mine. When the Coast Guard boat had appeared, I'd silently prayed they wouldn't pick me out of the water and find me perfectly dry, which might've raised some eyebrows. **

Athena looked genuinely surprised. Maybe the sea spawn wasn't so hopeless after all.

**So I'd willed myself to get soaked. Sure enough, my usual waterproof magic had abandoned me. I was also barefoot, because I'd given my shoes to Grover. ****Better the Coast Guard wonder why one of us was barefoot than wonder why one of us had hooves.**

_That was actually pretty smart._ Athena thought. _Maybe it's not that bad if he's with Annabeth._

**After reaching dry land, we stumbled down the beach, watching the city burn against a beautiful sunrise. **

Nico raised his eyebrows. "Morbid thoughts..."

**I felt as if I'd just come back from the dead****—**

Several people rolled their eyes.

**which I had. My back pack was heavy with Zeus's master bolt. My heart was even heavier from seeing my mother.**

**"I don't believe it," Annabeth said. "We went all that way—"**

**"It was a trick," I said. "A strategy worthy of Athena."**

Athena frowned in irritation.

**"Hey," she warned.**

**"You get it, don't you?"**

**She dropped her eyes, her anger fading. "Yeah. I get it."**

**"Well, I don't!" Grover complained. "Would some body—"**

**"Percy ..." Annabeth said. "I'm sorry about your mother. I'm so sorry..."**

The throne room grew completely quiet. What Rachel didn't get was how Mrs. Jackson was still alive if she was stuck in the Underworld.

**I pretended not to hear her. If I talked about my mother, I was going to start crying like a little kid.**

**"The prophecy was right," I said. "You shall go west and face the god who has turned.' But it wasn't Hades. ****Hades didn't want war among the Big Three. **

Hades nodded in approval.

**Someone else pulled off the theft. Someone stole Zeus's master bolt, and Hades' helm, and framed me because I'm Poseidon's kid. Poseidon will get blamed by both sides. By sundown today, there will be a three-way war. And I'll have caused it."**

Ares started to glow faintly. His eyes glowed with power. "Wow... A three-way war..."

He snapped out of it when Aphrodite and Athena smacked him in the head.

**Grover shook his head, mystified. "But who would be that sneaky? Who would want war that bad?"**

**I stopped in my tracks, looking down the beach. "Gee, let me think."**

**There he was, waiting for us, in his black leather duster and his sunglasses, an aluminum baseball bat propped on his shoulder. His motorcycle rumbled beside him, its head light turning the sand red.**

**"Hey, kid," Ares said, seeming genuinely pleased to see me. "You were supposed to die."**

A low growl emitted from Poseidon's throat.

**"You tricked me," I said. **_**"You **_**stole the helm and the master bolt."**

Now a growl was emitting from Zeus and Hades' throat also.

**Ares grinned. "Well, now, I didn't steal them personally. Gods taking each other's symbols of power—that's a big no-no. But you're not the only hero in the world who can run errands."**

"Well," Piper started. "Hermes runs errands for Zeus and all of the gods but gods can't take each other's symbols of power so..."

She noticed the sour look on just about every demigod in the room and decided that it probably wouldn't be best to continue talking.

**"Who did you use? Clarisse? She was there at the winter solstice."**

At the accusing glances that Clarisse received from the other gods Chris gripped her hand protectively. Clarisse rolled her eyes and said, "No, I didn't help him. Seriously?"

**The idea seemed to amuse him. "Doesn't matter. The point is, kid, you're impeding the war effort. See, you've got to die in the Underworld. **

The fire in Ares' eyes quenched as he gulped nervously.

**Then Old Seaweed will be mad at Hades for killing you. **

"Old Seaweed?"

**Corpse Breath will have Zeus's master bolt, so Zeus'll be mad at **_**him. **_

"Corpse Breath? Tell me Ares, do you have a nick name for everyone?" Hades snarled.

"N-not f-for Z-zeus." Zeus looked at his son and shook his head.

**And Hades is still looking for this…"**

Hades' eyes bugged out. _Did Ares have what he thought he did?_

**From his pocket he took out a ski cap—the kind bank robbers wear—and placed it between the handlebars of his bike. Immediately, the cap transformed into an elaborate bronze war helmet.**

Everyone looked up to see Hades strangling Ares and bashing his head on his throne. "YOU. TOOK. MY. HELM!"

With every word Hades bashed Ares' head on his throne. Normally Ares would respond or do something but he was too stunned by what Hades was doing to him to react.

Athena cocked her head at the scene. She looked up at Zeus, Poseidon, and Dionysus. "Should we do something?"

Surprisingly, it was Aphrodite that answered. "No, no. We should let them have some Uncle-Nephew bonding time. It'll be good for both of them. It'll release Hades of a lot of stress and Ares... well, it'll just be good for him."

"Ahhh! Help!"

"Not to be rude or anything, but why do you care?" Zeus asked. Poseidon nodded, he had a feeling he knew what the answer was going to be but wanted to find out if he was wrong.

"Because of Percabeth of course." Aphrodite answered.

"What?"

"OH!" Piper said in realization. "Percabeth is the name that the Aphrodite cabin came up with for you and your boyfriend." She directed the last couple of words to Annabeth and was careful not to say Percy. "It's kind of like a celebrity couple thing." Then she sighed. "They _really_ like to talk about gossip in my cabin."

Thalia shook her head but then grinned broadly. "So, you and Jason would be Jasper?"

Suddenly, all of the commotion in the room stopped and all of the attention was directed to the two teenagers, who were-by _coincidence _(not the sarcasm)-sitting next to each other. All of the counselors smile at them knowingly.

Both of them blushed crimson. "No! I mean-" Jason started.

"Don't worry bro," Leo said. "We know _exactly_ what you mean."

"So," Aphrodite raised an eyebrow at Jason. She looked like she was examining him to see if he was worthy of her daughter. "Are you two a couple?"

"Umm..."

"Why don't we get back to the book." Leo suggested. He sent a pointed look to Hephaestus, who started reading because Aphrodite seemed to have gone into a protective parenting mode.

**"The helm of darkness," Grover gasped. **

Hades resumed beating up Ares.

**"Exactly," Ares said. "Now where was I? Oh yeah, Hades will be mad at both Zeus and Poseidon, because he doesn't know who took this. Pretty soon, we got a nice little three-way slugfest going."**

Hades stopped hurting Ares momentarily to ask if his brothers wanted to help him.

"Oh no," Poseidon said as he adjusted the zoom on his video camera. "Go on, you're doing a great job."

Zeus nodded and snapped another picture of the two on the ground. He already had a picture for his Christmas cards that he had 'forgotten' to mail.

**"But they're your family!" Annabeth protested.**

**Ares shrugged. "Best kind of war. Always the bloodiest. Nothing like watching your relatives fight, I always say."**

Everyone stared at the god of war incredulously. Hades was now slapping him silly so his entire face was red and he had a dreamy look on his face.

**"You gave me the backpack in Denver," I said. "The master bolt was in there the whole time."**

Athena knit her eyebrows. "Not exactly."

**"Yes and no," Ares said. "It's probably too complicated for your little mortal brain to follow, but the backpack is the master bolt's sheath, just morphed a bit. The bolt is connected to it, sort of like that sword you got, kid. It always returns to your pocket, right?"**

**I wasn't sure how Ares knew about that, but I guess a god of war had to make it his business to know about weapons.**

Ares nodded dreamily as Hades switched the hand he was slapping Ares with. How he was still able to understand what was being said while being slapped no one will ever know? If you ask Aphrodite she'll say that he has a thick head.

**"Anyway," Ares continued, "I tinkered with the magic a bit, so the bolt would only return to the sheath once you reached the Underworld. You get close to Hades... Bingo, you got mail. If you died along the way—no loss. I still had the weapon."**

Athena pondered over this. "That's actually pretty smart."

"Well-" _smack!_ "I'm not" _smack! _"dumb you know." _smack!_

"I grew up with that helmet and now you want to _steal _it?"

"Well, technically I didn't steal it." _smack!_

**"But why not just keep the master bolt for yourself?" I said. "Why send it to Hades?"**

**Ares got a twitch in his jaw. For a moment, it was almost as if he were listening to another voice, deep inside his head. "Why didn't I ... yeah ... with that kind of fire power ..."**

**He held the trance for one second ... two seconds...**

Everyone glanced at Ares. _What was going on?_

**I exchanged nervous looks with Annabeth.**

**Ares's face cleared. "I didn't want the trouble. Better to have you caught red-handed, holding the thing."**

**"You're lying," I said. "Sending the bolt to the Underworld wasn't your idea, was it?"**

**"Of course it was!" Smoke drifted up from his sun glasses, as if they were about to catch fire.**

"cough*horrible liar*cough, cough" Hermes cleared his throat and smiled sweetly at Ares.

**"You didn't order the theft," I guessed. "Someone else sent a hero to steal the two items. Then, when Zeus sent you to hunt him down, you caught the thief. But you didn't turn him over to Zeus. Something convinced you to let him go. You kept the items until another hero could come along and complete the delivery. That thing in the pit is ordering you around."**

A gasp echoed around the throne room and Hades stopped slapping Ares. He glared at him for a good second and then went back to his seat.

"See?" Ares swallowed nervously. "It's not really my fault that all of this happened."

**"I am the god of war! I take orders from no one!**

Zeus looked pointedly at Ares.

"I mean," Ares said. "I don't take orders from anyone _lower_ than me who isn't Zeus."

**I don't have dreams!"**

"Where'd that come from?" Leo asked.

"Yeah." Katie said. "No one said anything about dreams."

Ares sulked. He looked completely bewildered.

"Someone _is_ controlling you!" Artemis said.

"The Crooked One." Jason muttered. Suddenly all of the noise in the room stopped. The sound of the Olympians swallowing nervously could be heard vividly.

**I hesitated. "Who said anything about dreams?"**

**Ares looked agitated, but he tried to cover it with a smirk.**

**"Let's get back to the problem at hand, kid. You're alive. I can't have you taking that bolt to Olympus. **

Zeus' nose twitched and he looked like he wanted to pounce on Ares and finish Hades' job.

**You just might get those hard-headed idiots to listen to you. **

"Hard-headed?" The big three chorused at once. Ares hid behind Demeter's throne.

"_Don't hurt me?_" Ares squeked. Everyone silently laughed at his behavior.

**So I've got to kill you. Nothing personal."**

Poseidon blasted Ares from behind Demeter's throne with sea water. The god of war slid in front of Hades' throne completely soaked. He coughed a couple of times and sea water spewed out of his mouth like a fountain.

As soon as he stopped coughing he looked up. When he saw Hades staring down at him he leaped up at a speed that would make Hermes jealous and ran to his throne.

**He snapped his fingers. The sand exploded at his feet and out charged a wild boar, even larger and uglier than the one whose head hung above the door of cabin seven at Camp Half-Blood. The beast pawed the sand, glaring at me with beady eyes as it lowered its razor-sharp tusks and waited for the command to kill.**

**I stepped into the surf. "Fight me yourself, Ares."**

Clarisse stared at the book incredulously. This kid was _really_ insane.

**He laughed, but I heard a little edge to his laughter ... an uneasiness. **

**"You've only got one talent, kid, running away. You ran from the Chimera. You ran from the Underworld. You don't have what it takes."**

"And Ares has many talents." Ares beamed at Aphrodite for defending him. "But his best talent is bragging, all talk and no show."

The smile slipped off his face.

**"Scared?"**

"Yes."

"I am not!"

**"In your adolescent dreams." But his sunglasses were starting to melt from the heat of his eyes. "No direct involvement. Sorry, kid. You're not at my level."**

**Annabeth said, "Percy, run!"**

Poseidon nodded.

**The giant boar charged.**

**But I was done running from monsters. Or Hades, or Ares, or anybody.**

Hermes raised an eyebrow. "Isn't he standing in the water? Isn't that why he's being so brave right now?"

**As the boar rushed me, I uncapped my pen and side stepped. Riptide appeared in my hands. I slashed upward. The boar's severed right tusk fell at my feet, while the disoriented animal charged into the sea.**

**I shouted, "Wave!"**

**Immediately, a wave surged up from nowhere and engulfed the boar, wrapping around it like a blanket. The beast squealed once in terror. Then it was gone, swallowed by the sea.**

"It probably would've been smart to attack him when he wasn't near the water." Ares contemplated.

"You think?"

**I turned back to Ares. "Are you going to fight me now?" I asked. "Or are you going to hide behind another pet?"** **Ares's face was purple with rage. "Watch it, kid. I could turn you into—"**

**"A cockroach," I said. "Or a tapeworm. Yeah, I'm sure. That'd save you from getting your godly hide whipped, wouldn't it?"**

"Oooooooo!"

**Flames danced along the top of his glasses. "Oh, man, you are really asking to be smashed into a grease spot."**

**"If I lose, turn me into anything you want. Take the bolt. If I win, the helm and the bolt are mine and **_**you **_**have to go away."**

Poseidon face-palmed. _Why did Percy have such a sharp tongue?_

**Ares sneered.**

**He swung the baseball bat off his shoulder. "How would you like to get smashed: classic or modern?"**

**I showed him my sword.**

**"That's cool, dead boy," he said. "Classic it is." The baseball bat changed into a huge, two-handed sword. The hilt was a large silver skull with a ruby in its mouth.**

Leo's eyes got wide. "Whoa. Epic sword."

Ares grinned and brought out the sword. "Oh yeah. Pretty cool. Your dad made it."

He was admiring the sword so much, he didn't notice that he had complimented Hephaestus.

**"Percy," Annabeth said. "Don't do this. He's a god."**

**"He's a coward," I told her.**

**She swallowed. "Wear this, at least. For luck."**

**She took off her necklace, with her five years' worth of camp beads and the ring from her father, and tied it around my neck.**

Aphrodite fainted with glee. "Oh my gods!" Ares said. "What happened?"

"She smiled really wide and then she fainted." Hephaestus said.

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Probably because of what Hephaestus read."

The other gods smiled at Athena and Poseidon.

**"Reconciliation," she said. "Athena and Poseidon together."**

While Aphrodite grinned some more, everyone glanced at Nico apprehensively. Nico had a giant smile on his face.

"No." Hermes said. "I told you the _day _Athena and Poseidon got _married _that I would serve Nico. That hasn't happened yet. And buy the looks on Poseidon and Athena's face it won't happen any time soon."

**My face felt a little warm, but I managed a smile. "Thanks."**

The counselors snickered at the blush on Annabeth's face.

**"And take this," Grover said. He handed me a flattened tin can that he'd probably been saving in his pocket for a thousand miles. "The satyrs stand behind you."**

**"Grover ... I don't know what to say."**

**He patted me on the shoulder. I stuffed the tin can in my back pocket.**

Leo smirked. "Because tin cans are _so_ magical."

"They are." Nico said. "They give good advice too."

"Uh-huh." Leo said. He scooched his chair in the opposite direction of Nico.

**"You all done saying good-bye?" Ares came toward me, his black leather duster trailing behind him, his sword glinting like fire in the sunrise. "I've been fighting for eternity, kid. My strength is unlimited and I cannot die. What have you got?"**

**A smaller ego, I thought, **

"That's true." Demeter mused.

**but I said nothing. I kept my feet in the surf, backing into the water up to my ankles. I thought back to what Annabeth had said at the Denver diner, so long ago: **_**Ares has strength. That's all he has. Even strength has to bow down to wisdom sometimes.**_

"So he actually listens to me." Annabeth smirked.

**He cleaved downward at my head, but I wasn't there.**

**My body thought for me. The water seemed to push me into the air and I catapulted over him, slashing as I came down. But Ares was just as quick. He twisted, and the strike that should've caught him directly in the spine was deflected off the end of his sword hilt.**

**He grinned. "Not bad, not bad."**

**He slashed again and I was forced to jump onto dry land. **

"And there goes your advantage." Athena said.

**I tried to sidestep, to get back to the water, but Ares seemed to know what I wanted. **

"Of course he would."

**He out maneuvered me, pressing so hard I had to put all my concentration on not getting sliced into pieces. I kept backing away from the surf. I couldn't find any openings to attack. His sword had a reach several feet longer than Anaklusmos.**

_**Get in close, **_**Luke had told me once, back in our sword class. **_**When you've got the shorter blade, get in close.**_

Everyone frowned. "Who knew the traitor would bring upon his own doom by teaching his enemy?" Travis grumbled.

Not all of the demigods heard him. "What was that Travis?" Hermes asked. He hadn't heard what Travis had said completely.

"Nothing. Keep reading."

**I stepped inside with a thrust, but Ares was waiting for that. **

**He knocked my blade out of my hands and kicked me in the chest. I went airborne—twenty, maybe thirty feet. I would've broken my back if I hadn't crashed into the soft sand of a dune.**

**"Percy!" Annabeth yelled. "Cops!"**

**I was seeing double. My chest felt like it had just been hit with a battering ram, but I managed to get to my feet.**

**I couldn't look away from Ares for fear he'd slice me in half, but out of the corner of my eye I saw red lights flashing on the shoreline boulevard. Car doors were slamming.**

"Oh great." Poseidon groaned.

**"There, officer!" somebody yelled. "See?"**

**A gruff cop voice: "Looks like that kid on TV ... what the heck ..."**

**"That guy's armed," another cop said. "Call for backup."**

**I rolled to one side as Ares's blade slashed the sand.**

**I ran for my sword, scooped it up, and launched a swipe at Ares's face, only to find my blade deflected again.**

"This battle is going to end in a stalemate." Artemis muttered.

Ares scoffed. "Yeah right! There's no way that I'm not creaming that punk."

He noticed the glare on Poseidon's face but didn't say anything. He wasn't going to hold back this time.

**Ares seemed to know exactly what I was going to do the moment before I did it.**

**I stepped back toward the surf, forcing him to follow.**

**"Admit it, kid," Ares said. "You got no hope. I'm just toying with you."**

**My senses were working overtime. I now understood what Annabeth had said about ADHD keeping you alive in battle. I was wide awake, noticing every little detail.**

**I could see where Ares was tensing. I could tell which way he would strike. At the same time, I was aware of Annabeth and Grover, thirty feet to my left. I saw a second cop car pulling up, siren wailing. Spectators, people who had been wandering the streets because of the earthquake, were starting to gather. Among the crowd, I thought I saw a few who were walking with the strange, trotting gait of disguised satyrs. **

"And now the gossip is going to spread until it reaches the Underworld and the spirits will be more restless." Hades massaged his temples.

**There were shimmering forms of spirits, too, as if the dead had risen from Hades to watch the battle. **

Zeus looked at Hades surprised. "You were serious about the dead rising?"

"Well do you take me for a fool brother?"

"No... Not at all."

**I heard the flap of leathery wings circling somewhere above.**

Athena paled. And now the Furies were upon them.

**More sirens.**

**I stepped farther into the water, but Ares was fast. The tip of his blade ripped my sleeve and grazed my forearm.**

**A police voice on a megaphone said, "Drop the guns.' Set them on the ground. Now!"**

**Guns?**

"The mist is awesome." Apollo said.

**I looked at Ares's weapon, and it seemed to be flickering; sometimes it looked like a shotgun, sometimes a two-handed sword. I didn't know what the humans were seeing in my hands, but I was pretty sure it wouldn't make them like me.**

**Ares turned to glare at our spectators, which gave me a moment to breathe. There were five police cars now, and a line of officers crouching behind them, pistols trained on us.**

**"This is a private matter!" Ares bellowed. "Be gone."**

**He swept his hand, and a wall of red flame rolled across the patrol cars. The police barely had time to dive for cover before their vehicles exploded. The crowd behind them scattered, screaming.**

**Ares roared with laughter. "Now, little hero. Let's add you to the barbecue."**

Poseidon glared at Ares. "No. Let's _not_ add him to the barbecue."

**He slashed. I deflected his blade. I got close enough to strike, tried to fake him out with a feint, but my blow was knocked aside. The waves were hitting me in the back now. Ares was up to his thighs, wading in after me.**

Poseidon smirked. _Just a little bit closer now._

**I felt the rhythm of the sea, the waves growing larger as the tide rolled in, and suddenly I had an idea. **_**Little waves, **_**I thought. And the water behind me seemed to recede. I was holding back the tide by force of will, but tension was building, like carbonation behind a cork.**

"Uh oh."

**Ares came toward, grinning confidently. I lowered my blade, as if I were too exhausted to go on. **_**Wait for it, **_**I told the sea. The pressure now was almost lifting me off my feet. Ares raised his sword. I released the tide and jumped, rocketing straight over Ares on a wave.**

**A six-foot wall of water smashed him full in the face, leaving him cursing and sputtering with a mouth full of seaweed. **

**I landed behind him with a splash and feinted toward his head, as I'd done before. He turned in time to raise his sword, but this time he was disoriented, he didn't anticipate the trick. I changed direction, lunged to the side, and stabbed Riptide straight down into the water, sending the point through the god's heel.**

A chorus of gasps echoed through the throne room. Apollo waved his hand in front of Ares' face. "Ares? Air head? Are you in there?"

"No fair!" Ares bellowed. "He cheated! I wasn't focused, that's foul play!"

He started pouting like a two year old and ranting about how unfair it was. Everyone rolled their eyes and tried to get him to be quiet but he wouldn't listen.

Dionysus sighed. "Wait."

He took out a giant roll of duct tape and when Ares stopped to breathe a little he taped his mouth shut an wrapped the duct tape around Ares' head.

"That's better. Read on Athena."

**The roar that followed made Hades's earthquake look like a minor event. The very sea was blasted back from Ares, leaving a wet circle of sand fifty feet wide.**

"Poseidon's not happy..." Apollo sung.

**Ichor, the golden blood of the gods, flowed from a gash in the war god's boot. The expression on his face was beyond hatred. It was pain, shock, complete disbelief that he'd been wounded.**

**He limped toward me, muttering ancient Greek curses.**

**Something stopped him.**

**It was as if a cloud covered the sun, but worse. Light faded. Sound and color drained away. A cold, heavy presence passed over the beach, slowing time, dropping the temperature to freezing, and making me feel like life was hopeless, fighting was useless.**

The silence in the room was overbearing.

**The darkness lifted.**

**Ares looked stunned.**

**Police cars were burning behind us. The crowd of spectators had fled. Annabeth and Grover stood on the beach, in shock, watching the water flood back around Ares's feet, his glowing golden ichor dissipating in the tide.**

**Ares lowered his sword.**

**"You have made an enemy, godling," he told me. "You have sealed your fate. Every time you raise your blade in battle, every time you hope for success, you will feel my curse. Beware, Perseus Jackson. Beware."**

**His body began to glow.**

**''Percy!" Annabeth shouted. "Don't watch!"**

**I turned away as the god Ares revealed his true immortal form. I somehow knew that if I looked, I would disintegrate into ashes.**

**The light died.**

**I looked back. Ares was gone. **

"Whoa." Jason said. "So, Percy's cursed now?" He was so caught up in the book that he didn't notice Piper stealing a glance at him.

Ares shrugged but there was a triumphant smile on his face. "Jackson just better watch out."

**The tide rolled out to reveal Hades's bronze helm of darkness. **

Hades sighed in relief. His intentions to murder Ares were momentarily forgotten.

**I picked it up and walked toward my friends.**

**But before I got there, I heard the flapping of leathery wings. Three evil-looking grandmothers with lace hats and fiery whips drifted down from the sky and landed in front of me.**

**The middle Fury, the one who had been Mrs. Dodds, stepped forward. Her fangs were bared, but for once she didn't look threatening. She looked more disappointed, as if she'd been planning to have me for supper, but had decided I might give her indigestion.**

Thalia knit her eyebrows. "That's a funny way to look at it."

**"We saw the whole thing," she hissed. "So ... it truly was not you?"**

**I tossed her the helmet, which she caught in surprise.**

**"Return that to Lord Hades," I said. "Tell him the truth. Tell him to call off the war."**

**She hesitated, then ran a forked tongue over her green, leathery lips. "Live well, Percy Jackson. Become a true hero. Because if you do not, if you ever come into my clutches again…"**

Nico had a confused look on his face. "Is that supposed to be a compliment or a threat? Which one?"

"I think it's both." Zeus said, though he looked unsure.

"I don't know." Leo stated. "It kind of sounded like she was scolding him. Like a mother does."

Hades shrugged. "Alecto _is_ pretty old."

**She cackled, savouring the idea. Then she and her sisters rose on their bats' wings, fluttered into the smoke-filled sky, and disappeared.**

**I joined Grover and Annabeth, who were staring at me in amazement.**

**"Percy ..." Grover said. "That was so incredibly ..."**

"Insane!" The entire room chorused.

**"Terrifying," said Annabeth.**

"I agree with Annabeth." Travis said and the other demigods nodded.

**"Cool!" Grover corrected.**

**I didn't feel terrified. I certainly didn't feel cool. I was tired and sore and completely drained of energy.**

**"Did you guys feel that... whatever it was?" I asked.**

**They both nodded uneasily.**

**"Must've been the Furies overhead," Grover said.**

**But I wasn't so sure. Something had stopped Ares from killing me, and whatever could do that was a lot stronger than the Furies.**

"Definitely more ancient..." Hades muttered.

**I looked at Annabeth, and an understanding passed between us. I knew now what was in that pit, what had spoken from the entrance of Tartarus.**

**I reclaimed my backpack from Grover and looked inside. The master bolt was still there. Such a small thing to almost cause World War III.**

**"We have to get back to New York," I said. "By tonight."**

**"That's impossible," Annabeth said, "unless we—"**

**"Fly," I agreed.**

**She stared at me. "Fly, like, in an airplane, which you were warned never to do lest Zeus strike you out of the sky, **_**and **_**carrying a weapon that has more destructive power than a nuclear bomb?"**

Thalia shook her head. "_Insane._"

Zeus frowned. Now he couldn't strike the sea spawn down.

**"Yeah," I said. "Pretty much exactly like that. Come on."**

Demeter sighed. "Insane is right Thalia. Just like his father."

* * *

><p><strong>Review if you feel like it. Until next weekend...<strong>

**Erudite19**


	24. A Bunch of Boys Who Might Be Murdered

Poseidon rolled his eyes at the comment that Demeter made. "I'm not insane, I'm impertinent. Jeez..."

Apollo brightened up. "I guess it's my turn to read."

He reached for the book in Athena's hands but the Nico interrupted. "Could we eat first? I'm starving."

Annabeth raised her eyebrows at Nico. "You ate breakfast two hours ago. How can you be starving?"

"I just am. Don't question my stomach. It has its own schedule and can be very fragile if not fed." Nico said in a serious face.

Hades nodded along with his son. "I could go for some lunch right now."

Connor grinned. "We should have brunch instead of lunch. Its the second most important meal of the day that almost no one knows about. That way I could have orange juice again..." He went off into a daze probably fantasizing about drinking orange juice.

"Ooo! Ooo!" Travis started. "Or we could have beef jerky!" Then he started to salivate.

Demeter frowned. "What's wrong with having regular cereal?"

Leo frowned. "You talk about it too much and it sounds too much like serial, serial killer. Do you kill people with cereal Demeter? Is that why the term is _serial_ killer?"

All eyes turned to Demeter, who suddenly had a haunting look in her eyes and she seemed like she was daydreaming. She swallowed nervously when she saw everyone looking at her. "I-i'll go see what there is to eat in the kitchen."

With that she flashed out leaving a very confused, slightly frightened, and frowning crowd. Frowning because Demeter was probably going to put cereal in the pantry.

"You know," Nico started. "She did go to that rehab center and she does talk about cereal a lot."

Thalia considered this. "She does fight with Hades a lot. Hades... the god of the Underworld... where there's a lot of souls... souls that used to be people and then _died_..."

The room got extremely quiet.

Aphrodite's eyes bugged out. "That's enough! Let's get to the kitchen before Demeter replaces everything with cereal."

The gods flashed out leaving the demigods to walk to the kitchen. When they got there, there was what appeared to be a feast laid out on the table. Demeter seemed like she was back in her regular state but some people *Aphrodite* still avoided her.

They all ate and talked for awhile until Annabeth excused herself and went back to the throne room. She seemed a little sad so Thalia, Rachel, Katie, Piper, and even Clarisse got up to go see what was wrong with her. The second Aphrodite was sure that the girls had disappeared around the corner all eyes turned to the boys.

Ares snapped his fingers and iron chains leaped out of the ground and wrapped around the waists of the boys.

"Alright." Athena sighed. "Spill it. What's wrong with Annabeth? Why is she so sad all of the time?"

The boys glanced at each other nervously. Travis cleared his throat. "What do you mean? She seems perfectly fine to me."

"Really?" Athena challenged. Travis nodded hesitantly.

Athena sent a look to Ares and he snapped his fingers again. The iron chains tightened slightly around their waists.

"OW! That _really_ hurts!"

Ares snapped his fingers again and the chains loosened up. Athena got up and walked to the boys, her whole body radiating with rage because she didn't want to play games, and stopped three feet away from them.

The Olympians stayed out of her way. An angry goddess of wisdom could be very imaginative. They all saw that when the incident with Medusa occured. "I'm going to ask you all again. What's. Wrong. With. My. Daughter?"

Nico gulped and tried to think up an explanation other than what was happening back in his time period. He was about to say something incredibly ridiculous but Leo interrupted.

"Wait a minute! The letter that we read at the beginning said that we couldn't tell you what was going on in our time period."

Athena frowned and boys sighed in relief, thankful that they wouldn't have to feel Athena's rage but then Aphrodite spoke up. "The letter said that you should avoid telling us what's going on in the future. It never said you couldn't give us a hint."

The smirks fell off of the boys' faces. "Wow." Hephaestus said. He looked at Aphrodite an admiration. "You could be _really_ smart when you want to."

Aphrodite beamed at him and leaned into his body. Ares' eye twitched. He wanted to punch Hephaestus in the face and wipe that stupid smile off his face but he decided to wait. He would get Hephaestus later.

Jason bit his lip. "Do you know how dangerous it would be if we told you? Annabeth would murder us."

Leo scoffed. "Annabeth wouldn't murder us, Thalia would do it in a heartbeat and disintegrate us with a bolt of lightning. Get the job over with."

Nico's mouth gaped. "Your both wrong. _Percy_, if he ever gets here and you know, is fine, would drown us _for _her."

Poseidon knit his eyebrows. "What do you mean, 'if he's fine'?" Before the boys could reply Aphrodite interrupted.

"Why would they kill you?" Then her eyes bugged out. "She's pregnant isn't she? That _has_ to be it!"

"What?" Everyone else shouted. Pandemonium broke out the second Poseidon fainted.

"Annabeth's pregnant?"

"She can't be!"

"Poseidon fainted!"

"Oh goody! More gossip!"

Zeus and Hades smiled and brought out a camera to film Poseidon, who had fallen off his chair when he had fainted.

"We'll have to throw her a baby shower!"

"Poseidon and Athena are going to be _grandparents_!"

Those last comments came from Aphrodite.

"Wait!" Athena yelled. "She's not pregnant!" Then she turned to the boys. "She _isn't _pregnant right?"

To her relief, the boy's nodded.

The rest of the Olympians sighed while Aphrodite pouted. Apollo rolled his eyes. "Thank you Aphrodite, for giving Poseidon a heart attack. Literally." They all glanced at the sea god, who was currently on the floor passed out. Zeus and Hades were next to him. Zeus was trying to get him to wake up while Hades continued to film.

Hermes furrowed his eyebrows. He was dressed like an Elvis impersonator. "Then what's wrong with her? Since the day that she's come here I've been getting some bad vibes from her, you know what I'm sayin'?"

The other Olympians nodded.

"No." Connor said. He was completely confused by Hermes' act. "I don't get a thing you just said. Could you repeat it in _ENGLISH?_"

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Stop stalling and give us a hint already."

"And if we don't?" Chris asked.

Aphrodite smiled devilishly and that was all that the boys needed to convince theirselves that they needed to tell their parents.

Travis sighed. "Only if you promise on the Styx not to do this again."

The Olympians swore on the Styx so Travis began. "Well..."

Thalia walked back into the kitchen to find that it was extremely quiet. She knit her eyebrows in confusion. The rest of the girls trailed in after her. Annabeth had gone to the library on the other side of the palace. Thalia surveyed the scene. The boys wouldn't meet the confused looks that the girls had. They looked extremely guilty and kept their eyes on their food. Then Thalia glanced at the gods to find that they looked sullen and slightly guilty. They were having a quiet conversation and kept glancing at the girls.

_What's going on?_

Thalia cleared her throat and everyone looked at her. "What's going on? Why do you all look so guilty?"

No answer. Then Thalia looked at the boys and found them deliberately avoiding her stare. She saw Travis swallow hard and knew that something extremely bad had happened. She had an idea of what had occurred but she hoped she was extremely wrong. She had Travis pinned up on the wall in a heartbeat.

"What'd you tell them Stoll? What'd you do?"

"I didn't do anything wrong!" Travis screamed. "I swear!"

Thalia loosened up on her grip on his collar. The Olympians' mouth's were gaped open. "Then what did you do? Why does everyone look so guilt ridden?"

Artemis cleared her throat and all of the girls looked at her. "We were all"-she gestured to the Olympians and herself-"wondering what was wrong with Annabeth since she seemed extremely sad so we asked the boys what was wrong with her. To make sure that they told us everything we attached them to their chairs with iron chains."

Ares continued. "If they didn't tell us anything we would tighten the chains around them. Leo pointed out that they couldn't really tell us anything because of what the letter that had appeared when you had gotten here had said. So, instead we had them give us clues."

"And now," Athena said. "We have come to the understanding that Percy could be at the Roman camp with no memories and that the Earth mother is rising."

Athena waited for someone to say something, to deny her idea, but no one said anything. The Olympians slumped in their seats.

"Then the chapter have restarted." Hades murmered but everyone heard him.

The demigods nodded. Suddenly Rachel and Thalia glanced at each other and smirked.

Poseidon, who had woken up from his faint to hear the boys give them clues of what was going on in their time period, said, "Why are you two smirking? The end of the world is coming."

Thalia's smirk broadened and she turned to the boys. "It'll be a pleasure to see how Annabeth decides to kill you and then see her _actually_ murder you."

The rest of the girls smirked at the comment while the boys groaned and slumped in their seats.

* * *

><p><strong>You guys are probably really mad that I didn't update more than this chapter this weekend but I got really busy. Only about four more chapters left of this story and then I start on the Sea of Monsters. I might not start on that story for a long time because I'll be reading the Son of Neptune. Review if you feel like it. 'Til next weekend.<strong>

**Erudite19**


	25. I Settle My Tab

As Annabeth walked into the throne room she looked at the gods. She made a mental note that they looked sad. depressed (Poseidon), and pale. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Athena glance at her in worry. She shrugged it off. Maybe the Olympians were just having a bad day or something that Hera said ticked them off?

The thought that they might know about Percy never crossed her mind.

She looked at her friends and found that they seemed okay. They were playing around and talking- except for Travis, who was glancing at Thalia in worry. She wondered what Travis had done to become so scared at Thalia. When she sat down next to Thalia she raised in eyebrow in question but Thalia just shrugged and mouthed, _I'll tell you later._

As soon as Annabeth sat down, Apollo reached for the book in Zeus' hands but Dionysus got it before him.

"Hey!" Apollo protested. Dionysus resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Oh, calm down. You'll get to read eventually."

* * *

><p>"<strong>I Settle My Tab,<strong>" Dionysus read.

Hephaestus looked at Ares, "You still haven't paid for your repair on your last motorcycle repair."

Ares rolled his eyes but took out his credit card. "Go ahead and charge it for two motorcycle accidents."

"Why?"

"In case I crash it again."

Demeter snorted. "Three thousand years and you still don't know how to ride that thing?"

Ares frowned. "One, I _do_ know how to ride _her._ Two, you don't call her a thing because she's not a thing, she's a _her. _Of course I wouldn't expect a serial killer to understand."

In response, Demeter glared at Ares.

**It's funny how humans can wrap their mind around things and fit them into their version of reality.**

Dionysus smiled fondly throughout this sentence.

**Chiron had told me that long ago. As usual, I didn't appreciate his wisdom until much later.**

"No one does."

**According to the L.A. news, **

"Oh," Thalia said. "This'll be good. The news almost never tells the truth."

**the explosion at the Santa Monica beach had been caused when a crazy kidnapper **

Ares frowned. "I'm not crazy."

Everyone looked away from him in an attempt to hide the accusing looks on their faces.

**fired a shotgun at a police car. He accidentally hit a gas main that had ruptured during the earthquake.**

Hephaestus shook his head.

**This crazy kidnapper **

Ares sighed exasperatedly.

**was the same man who had abducted me and two other adolescents in New York and brought us across country on a ten-day odyssey of terror.**

**Poor little Percy Jackson wasn't an international criminal after all.**

Poseidon smiled a little.

**He'd caused a commotion on that Greyhound bus in New Jersey trying to get away from his captor (and afterward, witnesses would even swear they had seen the leather-clad man on the bus—**

Almost everyone rolled their eyes.

**"Why didn't I remember him before?"). The crazy man had caused the explosion in the St. Louis Arch. After all, no kid could've done that. **

Ares' right eye twitched. "So I get all the blame?"

Hades rolled his eyes. "Suck it up Ares. What'd you expect?"

**A concerned waitress in Denver had seen the man threatening his abductees outside her diner, gotten a friend to take a photo, and notified the police. Finally, brave Percy Jackson (I was beginning to like this kid)**

"Me too."

Annabeth smiled a little.

**had stolen a gun from his captor in Los Angeles and battled him shotgun-to-rifle on the beach. Police had arrived just in time. But in the spectacular explosion, five police cars had been destroyed and the captor had fled. No fatalities had occurred. Percy Jackson and his two friends were safely in police custody.**

Athena relaxed a little. At least Annabeth is safe.

**The reporters fed us this whole story. We just nodded and acted tearful and exhausted and played victimized kids for the cameras.**

"Well," Connor started. "At least that'll be easy to do. There's no way they could tell that you're lying."

**"All I want," I said, choking back my tears, "is to see my loving stepfather again. **

Aphrodite growled. She got out a sketchpad and started drawing Gabe as a catfish.

**Every time I saw him on TV, calling me a delinquent punk, **

Poseidon pursed his lips.

**I knew ... somehow ... we would be okay. ****And I know he'll want to reward each and every person in this beautiful city of Los Angeles with a free major appliance from his store. **

A roar of approval went up from the people in the room.

**Here's the phone number." **

Ares smirked slightly. "I don't like your son that much Poseidon, but that was brilliant. I mean, even Athena _has_ to agree with that."

When everyone turned to Athena she merely rolled her eyes and signaled Dionysus to read.

**The police and reporters were so moved that they passed around the hat and raised money for three tickets on the next plane ****to New York.**

Poseidon and Zeus frowned.

**I knew there was no choice but to fly. I hoped Zeus would cut me some slack, considering the circumstances. But it was still hard to force myself on board the flight.**

Zeus smirked. "I remember the time where we went to Japan for a vacation and we had to force Poseidon on the flight. That was hilarious."

A smirk bloomed on to all of the Olympians' faces.

"That was comedy gold." Hephaestus said. "I wish we could have recorded it."

Hermes nodded. "You could probably imagine how hard it was to get Percy on board."

"He must have been wining a lot." Athena said.

Annabeth sighed. "That's an understatement."

The counselors smirked at her while everyone else continued laughing at Poseidon.

"Oh sure," Poseidon grumbled. "Laugh it up. Really. My torture is your amusement."

When they continued laughing Poseidon frowned. Then he got a twinkle in his eye.

"Sure. I'll admit that I was pretty bad when we went on the plane... but not as bad when we took that vacation to Hawaii and Zeus wouldn't get on the ship."

Zeus gaped at Poseidon while everyone else was sent into another round of laughter.

Hades remembered an embarrassing trip that he took to the Bahamas with everyone else and he wouldn't get into the water. He decided to tell Dionysus to read because he was afraid someone might bring that up.

**Takeoff was a nightmare. Every spot of turbulence was scarier than a Greek monster.**

Zeus smirked knowingly at Poseidon.

**I didn't unclench my hands from the armrests until we touched down safely at La Guardia. **

"Wow."

**The local press was waiting for us outside security, but we managed to evade them thanks to Annabeth, who lured them away in her invisible Yankees cap, shouting, "They're over by the frozen yogurt! Come on!" then rejoined us at baggage claim**

Connor smiled dreamily. "Frozen yougurt..."

Travis shook his head at Connor and gestured for Dionysus to read.

**We split up at the taxi stand. I told Annabeth and Grover to get back to Half-Blood Hill and let Chiron know what had happened. They protested, and it was hard to let them go after all we'd been through, but I knew I had to do this last part of the quest by myself. If things went wrong, if the gods didn't believe me ... I wanted Annabeth and Grover to survive to tell Chiron the truth.**

Athena sent a thankful look to Poseidon.

**I hopped in a taxi and headed into Manhattan.**

**Thirty minutes later, I walked into the lobby of the Empire State Building.**

**I must have looked like a homeless kid, with my tattered clothes and my scraped-up face. I hadn't slept in at least twenty-four hours.**

**I went up to the guard at the front desk and said, "Six hundredth floor."**

"That's not going to work... he'll threaten him... and pull out a bazooka... or a knife..." Travis muttered.

Leo raised an eyebrow. "And how would you know that?"

"I've been here before during the winter solstice and the big event that occured...where there were a lot of monsters... and crazy titans..."

"Oh."

"That still doesn't explain anything." Annabeth said. "When we came here during the winter solstice Chiron was here so the guy let us through without any probelms and during the war he didn't pull out a bazooka on us, how-"

She stopped at the creepy look Travis was giving off and hurriedly told Dionysus to read.

**He was reading a huge book with a picture of a wizard on the front. I wasn't much into fantasy, but the book must've been good, because the guard took a while to look up. "No such floor, kiddo."**

**"I need an audience with Zeus."**

**He gave me a vacant smile. "Sorry?"**

Nico frowned. "Who is that guy anyways?"

When the demigods looked towards the gods they shrugged. "I don't know," Artemis said. "Some guy Hermes hired. Probably one of his kids."

When they looked at Hermes he merely stated. "My lips are sealed."

**"You heard me."**

**I was about to decide this guy was just a regular mortal, and I'd better run for it before he called the straitjacket patrol, **

Nico sighed. "Why does that always happen?"

Everyone, except for Travis, Leo, Apollo, Connor, Hades, and Hermes, looked at him with an apprehensively.

**when he said, "No appointment, no audience, kiddo. Lord Zeus doesn't see anyone unannounced."**

**"Oh, I think he'll make an exception." I slipped off my backpack and unzipped the top.**

"Oh... that'll work."

**The guard looked inside at the metal cylinder, not getting what it was for a few seconds. Then his face went pale. "That isn't..."**

**"Yes, it is," I promised. "You want me take it out and—"**

**"No! No!" He scrambled out of his seat, fumbled around his desk for a key card, then handed it to me. "Insert this in the security slot. Make sure nobody else is in the elevator with you."**

Zeus rolled his eyes. "Because we'd actually want mortals to ride up to Olympus."

"Really?" Apollo said, a bit confused.

"No!"

**I did as he told me. As soon as the elevator doors closed, I slipped the key into the slot. The card disappeared and a new button appeared on the console, a red one that said 600.**

Piper, Leo, and Jason waited in anticipation. They'd never been to Olympus before.

**I pressed it and waited, and waited.**

**Music played. "Raindrops keep falling on my head..."**

Apollo frowned and made a mental note to change the music in the elevator.

**Finally, **_**ding. **_**The doors slid open. I stepped out and almost had a heart attack.**

Zeus and Ares smirked evilly.

When Hades glanced at Zeus and Hades he shivered. "See? That's what you call an evil smile, not what I do."

Everyone rolled their eyes at him but had to agree that Ares and Zeus did look a bit off. Maybe they ate cereal today?

"Why'd he almost have a heart attack?" Piper asked.

"You'll see."

**I was standing on a narrow stone walkway in the middle of the air. Below me was Manhattan, from the height of an airplane. **

"Oh."

**In front of me, white marble steps wound up the spine of a cloud, into the sky. My eyes followed the stairway to its end, where my brain just could not accept what I saw.**

**Look again, my brain said.**

**We're looking, my eyes insisted. It's really there.**

"Woah..." Apollo said. "And you all call _me_ insane?"

**From the top of the clouds rose the decapitated peak of a mountain, its summit covered with snow. Clinging to the mountainside were dozens of multileveled palaces—a city of mansions—all with white-columned porticos, gilded terraces, and bronze braziers glowing with a thousand fires. Roads wound crazily up to the peak, where the largest palace gleamed against the snow. **

"Snow? Isn't it supposed to be summer?"

**Precariously perched gardens **

Demeter and Hades smiled. Persephone liked the gardens.

**with olive trees and rosebushes. **

Athena and Aphrodite smiled.

**I could make out an open-air market filled with colorful tents, a stone amphitheater built on one side of the mountain, **

Now Apollo smiled.

**a hippodrome and a coliseum on the other. It was an Ancient Greek city, except it wasn't in ruins. It was new, and clean, and colorful, the way Athens must've looked twenty-five hundred years ago.**

"To bad it had to get trashed." Thalia murmured. The demigods around her nodded.

**This place can't be here, I told myself. **

"Yes it can."

**The tip of a mountain hanging over New York City like a billion-ton asteroid? **

"Well... when you put it that way..."

**How could something like that be anchored above the Empire State Building, in plain sight of millions of people, and not get noticed?**

"Holy pinneapple," Apollo sighed. "The mist! It's the mist!"

Artemis glanced at Athena and mouthed, _Pinneapple?_

Athena shrugged, _He's your blood-related brother._

**But here it was. And here I was.**

**My trip through Olympus was a daze. I passed some giggling wood nymphs who threw olives at me from their garden. **

Poseidon frowned. Athena probably got the tree nymphs to do that. How obvious could it be? _OLIVES._

**Hawkers in the market offered to sell me ambrosia-on-a-stick, ****and a new shield, and a genuine glitter-weave replica of the Golden Fleece, as seen on Hephaestus-TV. **

"We don't need a replica now."

**The nine muses were tuning their instruments for a concert in the park while a small crowd gathered—satyrs and naiads and a bunch of good-looking teenagers **

"Minor gods and goddesses." Athena muttered.

"Or a bunch of good looking Apollos." Apollo waggled his eyebrows suggestively while everyone ignored him.

**who might've been minor gods and goddesses. Nobody seemed worried about an impending civil war. In fact, everybody seemed in a festive mood.**

"They probably know he's here." Hades mumbled.

**Several of them turned to watch me pass, and whispered to themselves.**

**I climbed the main road, toward the big palace at the peak. It was a reverse copy of the palace in the Underworld.**

Apollo sighed in content. "So then it won't be depressing and spoil my mood."

**There, everything had been black and bronze. Here, every thing glittered white and silver.**

**I realized Hades must've built his palace to resemble this one. He wasn't welcomed in Olympus except on the winter solstice, so he'd built his own Olympus underground.**

At the questioning looks being sent towards him Hades shrugged and gestured to Dionysus to continue reading.

**Despite my bad experience with him, I felt a little sorry for the guy. To be banished from this place seemed really unfair. It would make anybody bitter.**

**Steps led up to a central courtyard. Past that, the throne room.**

_**Room **_**really isn't the right word. **

"It isn't." Piper said. For the first time in the many days that she'd been there, she took a good look around the throne 'room'.

**The place made Grand Central Station look like a broom closet. Massive columns rose to a domed ceiling, which was gilded with moving constellations.**

**Twelve thrones, built for beings the size of Hades, were arranged in an inverted U, just like the cabins at Camp Half-Blood. An enormous fire crackled in the central hearth pit. The thrones were empty except for two at the end: the head throne on the right, and the one to its immediate left. I didn't have to be told who the two gods were that were sitting there, waiting for me to approach. I came toward them, my legs trembling.**

"Wuss." Ares muttered.

**The gods were in giant human form, as Hades had been, but I could barely look at them without feeling a tingle, as if my body were starting to burn. Zeus, the Lord of the Gods, wore a dark blue pinstriped suit. He sat on a simple throne of solid platinum. He had a well-trimmed beard, marbled gray and black like a storm cloud. His face was proud and handsome and grim, his eyes rainy gray.**

Zeus raised an eyebrow at the description. "That's surprisingly... accurate."

**As I got nearer to him, the air crackled and smelled of ozone.**

"Just like the way when Thalia gets mad?" Nico asked innocently.

"Yes," Zeus answered. "I suppose..."

**The god sitting next to him was his brother, without a doubt, but he was dressed very differently. He reminded me of a beachcomber from Key West. **

Ares stifled a laugh. "Did your son just call you a beach bum?"

Laughter erupted from the occupants of the room.

Nico felt an urge to defend Poseidon. He didn't know why. Maybe it was because Percy kept on trying to find him, even after he'd made it clear that he didn't want him to. "Technically, Poseidon _is_ a beach bum."

More laughter from the male gods and demigods while the goddesses and female demigods composed theirself. Poseidon sent a look that was a mix between a question and a glare.

"However, he's a beach bum that probably gets sympathy from a lot fo girls who go to the beach."

The laughter ceased immediately while Poseidon beamed at Nico. In their embarassed state, the gods urged Dionysus to read.

**He wore leather sandals, khaki Bermuda shorts, and a Tommy Bahama shirt with coconuts and parrots all over it.**

**His skin was deeply tanned, his hands scarred like an old-time fisherman's. His hair was black, like mine. His face had that same brooding look that had always gotten me branded a rebel. **

A large sigh erupted from the people who had known Percy personally.

**But his eyes, sea green like mine, were surrounded by sun-crinkles that told me he smiled a lot, too.**

"Yeah," Athena frowned. "From pranking people with Hermes too much."

**His throne was a deep-sea fisherman's chair. It was the simple swiveling kind, **

Hephaestus knit his eyebrows. "Why don't you ever get the high tech ones? Why stick with that old thing?"

In response Poseidon shrugged. "I like simple things. When it's complicated, it gets dramatic. Besides, Dramatic is Zeus' profesionality."

He ignored the irritated look being sent his way.

**with a black leather seat and a built-in holster for a fishing pole. Instead of a pole, the holster held a bronze trident, flickering with green light around the tips.**

**The gods weren't moving or speaking, but there was tension in the air, as if they'd just finished an argument.**

**I approached the fisherman's throne and knelt at his feet. "Father."**

Zeus' eye twitched. "Poseidon, don't you think your son should-"

"Calm down Zeus. I'm sure I'll tell him."

**I dared not look up. My heart was racing. I could feel the energy emanating from the two gods. If I said the wrong thing, I had no doubt they could blast me into dust.**

"Not with Poseidon there."

**To my left, Zeus spoke. "Should you not address the master of this house first, boy?"**

**I kept my head down, and waited.**

**"Peace, brother," Poseidon finally said. His voice stirred my oldest memories: that warm glow I remembered as a baby, the sensation of this god's hand on my forehead, **

Poseidon smiled fondly, remembering those old memories.

Athena sat up and looked at Poseidon. "Like a blessing?"

"What?"

"You put your hand on Percy like you were giving him a blessing?"

"So?"

"So, were you?"

Poseidon sighed. "I knew what he would probably go through so I thought that I should put a blessing on him so that he could at least survive 'til his sixteenth birthday."

**"The boy defers to his father. This is only right."**

**"You still claim him then?" Zeus asked, menacingly. "You claim this child whom you sired against our sacred oath?"**

"You know," Poseidon said. "You're talking a lot of smack for a god who sired a demigod before I did. _Two_, I mean."

Zeus merely stared at him and turned back to Dionysus so he could read.

**"I have admitted my wrongdoing," Poseidon said. "Now I would hear him speak."**

"OH!" A shout erupted from all of the demigods on the floor.

"What?" Zeus asked frantically. "Is something wrong?"

"Yes!" Nico nearly shouted. "Why would you say _wrongdoing_? You're going to completely crush his spirit!"

**Wrongdoing.**

Poseidon grimaced. His immediately became depressed. Why would he say that about Percy?

**A lump welled up in my throat. Was that all I was? A wrongdoing? The result of a god's mistake?**

The gods glanced at Thalia and Nico to find that they were glaring at them bitterly. After a moment of silence Dionysus decided to keep reading.

**"I have spared him once already," Zeus grumbled. "Daring to fly through my domain ... pah! I should have blasted him out of the sky for his impudence."**

Annabeth's grip tightened a little.

**"And risk destroying your own master bolt?" Poseidon asked calmly. "Let us hear him out, brother."**

**Zeus grumbled some more. "I shall listen," he decided. "Then I shall make up my mind whether or not to cast this boy down from Olympus."**

Hephaestus' body became rigid. _Just like Hera._

**"Perseus," Poseidon said. "Look at me."**

**I did, and I wasn't sure what I saw in his face. There was no clear sign of love or approval. Nothing to encourage me. It was like looking at the ocean: some days, you could tell what mood it was in. Most days, though, it was unreadable, mysterious.**

Everyone nodded.

**I got the feeling Poseidon really didn't know what to think of me. He didn't know whether he was happy to have me as a son or not. In a strange way, I was glad that Poseidon was so distant. If he'd tried to apologize, or told me he loved me, or even smiled, it would've felt fake. Like a human dad, making some lame excuse for not being around. **

The silence in the throne room was defeaning.

**I could live with that. After all, I wasn't sure about him yet, either.**

**"Address Lord Zeus, boy," Poseidon told me. "Tell him your story."**

**So I told Zeus everything, just as it had happened. I took out the metal cylinder, which began sparking in the Sky God's presence, and laid it at his feet.**

Zeus' smile broke out into a huge grin. He seemed to be holding back a shriek of joy.

**There was a long silence, broken only by the crackle of the hearth fire.**

**Zeus opened his palm. The lightning bolt flew into it.**

Zeus cleared his throat and stood up. "I need to step outside for a moment."

He disappeared into the gardens beside the palace.

Hades looked at Poseidon. "What do you think he's going to do?"

Poseidon cocked his head. "I don't know. Most likely something dramatic."

"Shhh!" Aphrodite said. "I think I hear something."

"Woo! ALRIGHT! Who's the boss? I AM! I GOT MY MASTERBOLT BACK! WOO!"

Everyone's jaw dropped. "Is... is that Zeus?" Artemis asked incredulously.

"I think so." Poseidon said. They all got up and walked over to the windows facing the garden to find Zeus dressed in a toga and doing a victory dance.

"YEAH! WOO!" When Zeus finally calmed down- at least that's what they thought- he walked over to the terrace.

"HELLO WORLD! Hey! You there!" Zeus pointed down at the streets, probably yelling at some mortal. "TASTE LIGHTNING BOLT SUCKER!"

There was a flash of lightning and a shriek from some mortal in the streets.

Poseidon shook his head in disbelief. "I told you he was dramatic."

"I don't doubt that." Annabeth murmured.

Suddenly, there was a golden light in the garden and all of the demigods had to look away to avoid getting disintegrated. When they finally looked, Hera was standing in the garden and scolding Zeus. "What on Olympus is wrong with you? Why are you-!"

She was cut off because then Zeus decided to turn around and throw a lightning bolt in front of her. Hera gaped at Zeus-who was still doing a victory dance- and she shook her head and flashed away.

Zeus continued his incredulous rant. After a couple of minutes Apollo snapped his fingers. A row of chairs appeared with a bag of popcorn on each. For the next forty minutes or so everyone sat on a chair and ate popcorn while watching Zeus go crazy.

Hephaestus even brought out a camera to record Zeus.

* * *

><p>"About time." Dionysus muttered. They all watched Zeus march back to his throne-finally back in his pin-stripe suit- and sit down.<p>

**As he closed his fist, the metallic points flared with electricity, until he was holding what looked more like the classic thunderbolt, a twenty-foot javelin of arcing, hissing energy that made the hairs on my scalp rise.**

Zeus rubbed his masterbolt on his cheek.

**"I sense the boy tells the truth," Zeus muttered. "But that Ares would do such a thing ... it is most unlike him."**

**"He is proud and impulsive," Poseidon said. "It runs in the family."**

"Yup."

**"Lord?" I asked.**

**They both said, "Yes?"**

**"Ares didn't act alone. Someone else—something else— came up with the idea."**

**I described my dreams, and the feeling I'd had on the beach, that momentary breath of evil that had seemed to stop the world, and made Ares back off from killing me.**

The room got quiet again.

**"In the dreams," I said, "the voice told me to bring the bolt to the Underworld. Ares hinted that he'd been having dreams, too. I think he was being used, just as I was, to start a war."**

Ares nodded.

**"You are accusing Hades, after all?" Zeus asked.**

Hades sighed and face-palmed.

**"No," I said. "I mean, Lord Zeus, I've been in the presence of Hades. This feeling on the beach was different. It was the same thing I felt when I got close to that pit. That was the entrance to Tartarus, wasn't it? Something powerful and evil is stirring down there ... something even older than the gods."**

"Like I said before," Zeus muttered. "Scare us all to Tartarus."

**Poseidon and Zeus looked at each other. They had a quick, intense discussion in Ancient Greek. I only caught one word. **_**Father.**_

**Poseidon made some kind of suggestion, but Zeus cut him off. Poseidon tried to argue. Zeus held up his hand angrily. "We will speak of this no more," Zeus said.**

"And by trying to avoid it," Athena stated. "It's going to happen."

**"I must go personally to purify this thunderbolt in the waters of Lemnos, to remove the human taint from its metal."**

**He rose and looked at me. His expression softened just a fraction of a degree. "You have done me a service, boy. Few heroes could have accomplished as much."**

**"I had help, sir," I said. "Grover Underwood and Annabeth Chase—"**

Annabeth smiled warmly.

**"To show you my thanks, I shall spare your life. I do not trust you, Perseus Jackson. I do not like what your arrival means for the future of Olympus. But for the sake of peace in the family, I shall let you live."**

**"Um... thank you, sir."**

**"Do not presume to fly again. Do not let me find you here when I return. Otherwise you shall taste this bolt. **

"Like the other many mortals in New York who have just tasted it." Hades rolled his eyes while Zeus blushed.

**And it shall be your last sensation."**

Leo whistled. "That's some threat..."

**Thunder shook the palace. With a blinding flash of lightning, Zeus was gone.**

"Dramatic..." Apollo sung.

**I was alone in the throne room with my father. "Your uncle," Poseidon sighed, "has always had a flair for dramatic exits. I think he would've done well as the god of theater."**

Laughter erupted in the throne room.

**An uncomfortable silence.**

**"Sir," I said, "what was in that pit?"**

And the defeaning silence returns.

**Poseidon regarded me. "Have you not guessed?"**

**"Kronos," I said. "The king of the Titans."**

**Even in the throne room of Olympus, far away from Tartarus, the name **_**Kronos **_**darkened the room, made the hearth fire seem not quite so warm on my back.**

The same thing occured in the present throne room.

**Poseidon gripped his trident. "In the First War, Percy, Zeus cut our father Kronos into a thousand pieces, just as Kronos had done to his own father, Ouranos. Zeus cast Kronos's remains into the darkest pit of Tartarus. The Titan army was scattered, their mountain fortress on Etna destroyed, their monstrous allies driven to the farthest corners of the earth. And yet Titans cannot die, any more than we gods can. Whatever is left of Kronos is still alive in some hideous way, still conscious in his eternal pain, still hungering for power."**

"Psychotic..."

**"He's healing," I said. "He's coming back."**

**Poseidon shook his head. "From time to time, over the eons, Kronos has stirred. He enters men's nightmares and breathes evil thoughts. **

"That would really explain Hitler."

**He wakens restless monsters from the depths. But to suggest he could rise from the pit is another thing."**

**"That's what he intends, Father. That's what he said."**

**Poseidon was silent for a long time.**

**"Lord Zeus has closed discussion on this matter. He will not allow talk of Kronos. You have completed your quest, child. That is all you need to do."**

**"But—" I stopped myself. Arguing would do no good. It would very possibly anger the only god who I had on my side.**

**"As ... as you wish, Father."**

"Wow." Thalia said. "That must have been really hard."

**A faint smile played on his lips. "Obedience does not come naturally to you, does it?"**

"No."

**"No ... sir."**

**"I must take some blame for that, I suppose. The sea does not like to be restrained." **

"No."

**He rose to his full height and took up his trident. Then he shimmered and became the size of a regular man, standing directly in front of me. "You must go, child. But first, know that your mother has returned."**

A smile formed on most of the faces in the room.

**I stared at him, completely stunned. "My mother?"**

**"You will find her at home. Hades sent her when you recovered his helm. Even the Lord of Death pays his debts."**

**My heart was pounding. I couldn't believe it. "Do you ... would you ..."**

**I wanted to ask if Poseidon would come with me to see her, but then I realized that was ridiculous. **

"I wish I could." Poseidon sighed.

**I imagined loading the God of the Sea into a taxi and taking him to the Upper East Side. **

"That does sound ridiculous." Leo muttered.

**If he'd wanted to see my mom all these years, he would have. And there was Smelly Gabe to think about.**

**Poseidon's eyes took on a little sadness. **

As they did now.

**"When you return home, Percy, you must make an important choice. You will find a package waiting in your room."**

**"A package?"**

"What package?"

Everyone turned to Annabeth, who smiled and gestured for Dionysus to continue.

**"You will understand when you see it. No one can choose your path, Percy. You must decide."**

"Oh great." Nico muttered. "More confusing poetry."

**I nodded, though I didn't know what he meant.**

**"Your mother is a queen among women," Poseidon said wistfully. "I had not met such a mortal woman in a thousand years. **

Poseidon looked on in a daze, thinking about Sally. The goddesses smiled at him.

Rachel leaned closer to Thalia. "Do you think that's how Percy thinks about Annabeth?"

Thalia seemed to contemplate it for a minute then she smiled and said, "Completely."

**Still ... I am sorry you were born, child. I have brought you a hero's fate, and a hero's fate is never happy. It is never anything but tragic."**

The demigods sighed and face-palmed.

**I tried not to feel hurt. Here was my own dad, telling me he was sorry I'd been born.**

**"I don't mind, Father."**

**"Not yet, perhaps," he said. "Not yet. But it was an unforgivable mistake on my part."**

Piper looked at Poseidon. "You're not that good with talking to kids are you?"

Poseidon shook his head. "It's not entirely my fault. I haven't had children in seventy years. Besides, he's not looking at the main point."

"Excuses will only get you so far."

**"I'll leave you then." I bowed awkwardly. "I—I won't bother you again."**

**I was five steps away when he called, "Perseus."**

**I turned.**

**There was a different light in his eyes, a fiery kind of pride. "You did well, Perseus. Do not misunderstand me. Whatever else you do, know that you are mine. You are a true son of the Sea God."**

**As I walked back through the city of the gods, conversations stopped. The muses paused their concert.**

**People and satyrs and naiads all turned toward me, their faces filled with respect and gratitude, and as I passed, they knelt, as if I were some kind of hero.**

"Which is kind of true."

**Fifteen minutes later, still in a trance, **

"Yeah... Olympus does that to you."

**I was back on the streets of Manhattan.**

**I caught a taxi to my mom's apartment, rang the door bell, and there she was—my beautiful mother, **

Poseidon smiled.

**smelling of peppermint and licorice, the weariness and worry evaporating from her face as soon as she saw me.**

**"Percy! Oh, thank goodness. Oh, my baby."**

The Stolls snickered a little.

**She crushed the air right out of me. We stood in the hallway as she cried and ran her hands through my hair.**

**I'll admit it—my eyes were a little misty, too.**

"A little?"

**I was shaking, I was so relieved to see her.**

**She told me she'd just appeared at the apartment that morning, scaring Gabe half out of his wits.**

Aphrodite grinned like a lunatic.

**She didn't remember anything since the Minotaur, and couldn't believe it when Gabe told her I was a wanted criminal, traveling across the country, blowing up national monuments. She'd been going out of her mind with worry all day because she hadn't heard the news. Gabe had forced her to go into work, saying she had a month's salary to make up and she'd better get started.**

Hephaestus and Ares had to restrain Aphrodite.

**I swallowed back my anger and told her my own story. I tried to make it sound less scary than it had been, but that wasn't easy. I was just getting to the fight with Ares when Gabe's voice interrupted from the living room. "Hey, Sally! That meatloaf done yet or what?"**

A growl came from Aphrodite's throat.

**She closed her eyes. "He isn't going to be happy to see you, Percy. The store got half a million phone calls today from Los Angeles ... something about free appliances."**

The demigods cracked a smile.

**"Oh, yeah. About that..."**

**She managed a weak smile. "Just don't make him angrier, all right? Come on."**

**In the month I'd been gone, the apartment had turned into Gabeland. Garbage was ankle deep on the carpet. The sofa had been reupholstered in beer cans. Dirty socks and underwear hung off the lampshades.**

Everyone wrinkled their noses.

**Gabe and three of his big goony friends were playing poker at the table.**

**When Gabe saw me, his cigar dropped out of his mouth. His face got redder than lava. "You got nerve coming here, you little punk. I thought the police—"**

**"He's not a fugitive after all," my mom interjected. "Isn't that wonderful, Gabe?"**

**Gabe looked back and forth between us. He didn't seem to think my homecoming was so wonderful.**

**"Bad enough I had to give back your life insurance money, Sally," he growled.**

Apollo and Hermes had to help Hephaestus and Ares but all four of them wanted to release her and watch Aphrodite tear Gabe to shreads. Finger nails could be very lethal.

**"Get me the phone. I'll call the cops."**

Poseidon's hand tightened around his trident.

**"Gabe, no!"**

**He raised his eyebrows. "Did you just say **_**'no'? **_**You think I'm gonna put up with this punk again? I can still press charges against him for ruining my Camaro."**

**"But—"**

**He raised his hand, and my mother flinched.**

Everyone gasped. For a moment they all just stared at the book and then Apollo, Hermes, Ares, and Hephaestus released Aphrodite. Her entire face was red and in an instant she looked ready to knock out someone in a ring. Poseidon was dressed similar also.

Before anyone could do anything, they both flashed out.

"Well," Zeus cleared his throat. "They'll probably be gone all day. Let's continue reading. We'll fill them in tomorrow or tonight."

**For the first time, I realized something. Gabe had hit my mother.**

**I didn't know when, or how much. But I was sure he'd done it. Maybe **_**it **_**had been going on for years, when I wasn't around.**

**A balloon of anger started expanding in my chest. I came toward Gabe, instinctively taking my pen out of my pocket.**

Everyone frowned. Percy wouldn't be able to hurt Gabe.

**He just laughed. "What, punk? You gonna write on me? You touch me, and you are going to jail forever, you understand?"**

**"Hey, Gabe," his friend Eddie interrupted. "He's just a kid."**

**Gabe looked at him resentfully and mimicked in a falsetto voice: **_**"Just a kid."**_

**His other friends laughed like idiots.**

"Reminds me of one of those dodge city or mean girls scenes." Apollo muttered. "You know, when the group of girls come up to the victim and whatever the leader says or does, they copy."

Everyone frowned.

"Except," Thalia stated. "This is with boys and one of them can drown the others in a heartbeat."

**"I'll be nice to you, punk." Gabe showed me his tobacco-stained teeth. "I'll give you five minutes to get your stuff and clear out. After that, I call the police."**

**"Gabe!" my mother pleaded.**

**"He ran away," Gabe told her. "Let him stay gone."**

**I was itching to uncap Riptide, but even if I did, the blade wouldn't hurt humans. And Gabe, by the loosest definition, was human.**

"Sadly."

**My mother took my arm. "Please, Percy. Come on. We'll go to your room."**

**I let her pull me away, my hands still trembling with rage.**

"And there goes protective Percy." Nico said. He stood up and looked off into the distance for a second or two. Then he turned to Apollo with an irritated look on his face. "Apollo!"

"Oh, right!" Apollo snapped his fingers and suddenly, Nico was dressed in a sailor's uniform.

Nico continued. "Protective Percy. Always there for the woman in his life. The one I call aqua dude despite what Thalia says."

Thalia rolled her eyes and pulled Nico back to his seat.

**My room had been completely filled with Gabe's junk. There were stacks of used car batteries, a rotting bouquet of sympathy flowers with a card from somebody who'd seen his Barbara Walters interview.**

**"Gabe is just upset, honey," my mother told me. "I'll talk to him later. I'm sure it will work out."**

**"Mom, it'll never work out. Not as long as Gabe's here."**

**She wrung her hands nervously. "I can ... I'll take you to work with me for the rest of the summer. In the fall, maybe there's another boarding school—"**

**"Mom."**

**She lowered her eyes. "I'm trying, Percy. I just... I need some time."**

**A package appeared on my bed. At least, I could've sworn it hadn't been there a moment before.**

**It was a battered cardboard box about the right size to fit a basketball. The address on the mailing slip was in my own handwriting:**

_**The Gods**_

_**Mount**__**Olympus**_

_**600th Floor,**_

_**Empire**__**State Building**_

_**New York, NY**_

_**With best wishes,**_

_**PERCY JACKSON**_

...

"OH!"

**Over the top in black marker, in a man's clear, bold print, was the address of our apartment, and the words: RETURN TO SENDER.**

**Suddenly I understood what Poseidon had told me on Olympus.**

**A package. A decision.**

_**Whatever else you do, know that you are mine. You are a true son of the Sea God.**_

"Which means," Athena sighed. "That he'll be completely rash about this."

**I looked at my mother. "Mom, do you want Gabe gone?"**

"YES! Say yes!"

**"Percy, it isn't that simple. I—"**

**"Mom, just tell me. That jerk has been hitting you. Do you want him gone or not?"**

**She hesitated, then nodded almost imperceptibly. "Yes, Percy. I do. And I'm trying to get up my courage to tell him. But you can't do this for me. You can't solve my problems."**

**I looked at the box.**

"Yes he can."

**I **_**could **_**solve her problem. I wanted to slice that package open, plop it on the poker table, and take out what was inside. I could start my very own statue garden, right there in the living room.**

"I'd pay money to see that." Katie said.

**That's what a Greek hero would do in the stories, I thought. That's what Gabe deserves.**

"Yes."

**But a hero's story always ended in tragedy. Poseidon had told me that.**

**I remembered the Underworld. I thought about Gabe's spirit drifting forever in the Fields of Asphodel, or condemned to some hideous torture behind the barbed wire of the Fields of Punishment—an eternal poker game, sitting up to his waist in boiling oil listening to opera music. Did I have the right to send someone there? Even Gabe?**

"Very descriptive for a son of Poseidon." Hades contemplated. "But yes, he can."

**A month ago, I wouldn't have hesitated. Now ...**

**"I can do it," I told my mom. "One look inside this box, and he'll never bother you again."**

**She glanced at the package, and seemed to understand immediately. "No, Percy," she said, stepping away. "You can't."**

**"Poseidon called you a queen," I told her. "He said he hadn't met a woman like you in a thousand years."**

**Her cheeks flushed. "Percy—"**

**"You deserve better than this, Mom.**

"Yup."

**You should go to college, get your degree. You can write your novel, meet a nice guy maybe, live in a nice house. You don't need to protect me anymore by staying with Gabe. Let me get rid of him."**

**She wiped a tear off her cheek. "You sound so much like your father," she said. "He offered to stop the tide for me once. He offered to build me a palace at the bottom of the sea.**

The goddesses smiled.

**He thought he could solve all my problems with a wave of his hand."**

"He can."

**"What's wrong with that?"**

**Her multicolored eyes seemed to search inside me. "I think you know, Percy. I think you're enough like me to understand. If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself. I can't let a god take care of me ... or my son. **

"Well," Jason said. "When she's old she'll have to let him."

**I have to ... find the courage on my own. Your quest has reminded me of that."**

**We listened to the sound of poker chips and swearing, ESPN from the living room television.**

**"I'll leave the box," I said. "If he threatens you …"**

**She looked pale, but she nodded. "Where will you go, Percy?"**

**"Half-Blood Hill."**

**"For the summer ... or forever?"**

**"I guess that depends."**

**We locked eyes, and I sensed that we had an agreement. We would see how things stood at the end of the summer.**

**She kissed my forehead. "You'll be a hero, Percy. You'll be the greatest of all."**

Clarisse shrugged. "I wouldn't say the greatest..."

Several people rolled their eyes at her.

**I took one last look around my bedroom. I had a feeling I'd never see it again. Then I walked with my mother to the front door.**

**"Leaving so soon, punk?" Gabe called after me. "Good riddance."**

**I had one last twinge of doubt. How could I turn down the perfect chance to take revenge on him? **

"i don't know." Hermes said.

**I was leaving here without saving my mother.**

**"Hey, Sally," he yelled. "What about that meat loaf, huh?"**

**A steely look of anger flared in my mother's eyes, and I thought, just maybe, I was leaving her in good hands after all. Her own.**

**"The meat loaf is coming right up, dear," she told Gabe. "Meat loaf surprise."**

Now the rest of the deities contemplated joining Aphrodite and Poseidon.

**She looked at me, and winked.**

"Yes!"

**The last thing I saw as the door swung closed was my mother staring at Gabe, as if she were contemplating how he would look as a garden statue.**

Everyone grinned at each other knowingly.

"Should we get Aphrodite and Poseidon?" Piper asked.

Then simultaneously everyone said, "No."

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the long wait. Only three more chapters left.<strong>

**Erudite19**


	26. Prophecies and Childhood Memories

**By popular request, I've decided to add another chapter to the story so everyone could find out what happened to Gabe when Aphrodite and Poseidon visited him. Three more chapters left...**

* * *

><p>Zeus looked through the window outside. The sun was beginning to set. "Alright people. This is the last chapter we're reading today. After that we go to bed."<p>

Artemis took the book from Dionysus. "This is the last chapter anyways."

"Then that means that we'll probably get the next book soon." Jason said.

Suddenly Connor and Travis groaned. "Eight books..." Travis stated. "We have to get through eight books."

Annabeth grimaced. Eight books...eight books without Percy...

Rachel shook her head. "Don't forget that more might be added."

More groaning. Athena rolled her eyes. "Read Artemis."

"**The Prophecy Comes True," **Artemis read.

Nico got a sour look on his face. He thought about Bianca's quest. "I hate it when that happens..." Then he lightened up a little. There was always Hazel...

**We were the first heroes to return alive to Half-Blood Hill since Luke, so of course everybody treated us as if we'd won some reality-TV contest.**

Leo knit his eyebrows. "Is that good?"

Annabeth thought over it. "Sometimes."

**According to camp tradition, we wore laurel wreaths to a big feast prepared in our honor, then led a procession down to the bonfire, where we got to burn the burial shrouds our cabins had made for us in our absence.**

**Annabeth's shroud was so beautiful—gray silk with embroidered owls—I told her it seemed a shame not to bury her in it.**

Athena glared at the book while almost everyone else laughed.

Connor sighed. "I don't blame him though, it was pretty beautiful."

...

"OW!"

**She punched me and told me to shut up.**

Annabeth grinned wildly.

**Being the son of Poseidon, I didn't have any cabin mates, so the Ares cabin had volunteered to make my shroud. **

Ares frowned.

**They'd taken an old bedsheet and painted smiley faces with X'ed-out eyes around the border, and the word LOSER painted really big in the middle.**

Ares smiled approvingly at Clarisse.

Artemis shook her head. "You two are just lucky that Poseidon isn't here."

**It was fun to burn.**

Clarisse shook her head. "It was fun to make."

**As Apollo's cabin led the sing-along and passed out s'mores, I was surrounded by my old Hermes cabinmates, Annabeth's friends from Athena,** **and Grover's satyr buddies, who were admiring the brand-new searcher's license he'd received from the Council of Cloven Elders. The council had called Grover's performance on the quest "Brave to the point of indigestion. **

All of the male gods chuckled. "Indigestion..."

Nico frowned. "Don't laugh. Sometimes that indigestion comes back and gets all over your shoes."

An abrupt silence passed over the gods.

**Horns-and-whiskers above anything we have seen in the past."**

**The only ones not in a party mood were Clarisse and her cabinmates, whose poisonous looks told me they'd never forgive me for disgracing their dad.**

Ares stuck his chin out and nodded.

**That was okay with me.**

Clarisse raised an eyebrow.

**Even Dionysus's welcome-home speech wasn't enough to dampen my spirits. **

Hermes and Apollo gasped dramatically. "No way..."

"Dionysus," Hermes started. "Not a party pooper?"

"Someone call Aphrodite! This is more gossip for her and her cabin." Apollo screamed frantically.

Piper rolled her eyes.

"This is an emergency! The world really is going to end! We must-OW! Jeez, sis'. That really hurt."

**"Yes, yes, so the little brat didn't get himself killed and now he'll have an even bigger head. Well, huzzah for that.**

"Wow." Artemis marveled. "That's the longest speech that I've ever heard Dionysus use..."

"See!" Apollo said. "I was right! We should call Aphrodite! We should... Okay! I'll stop. J-just don't hurt me."

**In other announcements, there will be **_**no **_**canoe races this Saturday..."**

**I moved back into cabin three, but it didn't feel so lonely anymore. I had my friends to train with during the day. At night, I lay awake and listened to the sea, knowing my father was out there. Maybe he wasn't quite sure about me yet, maybe he hadn't even wanted me born, but he was watching. And so far, he was proud of what I'd done.**

"For now." Zeus grumbled. "But if that boy does a single thing against Olympus-"

Artemis kept reading after noticing Annabeth's glare at Zeus.

**As for my mother, she had a chance at a new life. Her letter arrived a week after I got back to camp. She told me Gabe had left mysteriously—disappeared off the face of the planet, in fact.**

A smile bloomed on everyone's face.

**She'd reported him missing to the police, but she had a funny feeling they would never find him.**

"you don't say..." Hermes joked.

**On a completely unrelated subject, ****she'd sold her first life-size concrete sculpture, entitled **_**The Poker Player, **_**to a collector, through an art gallery in Soho.**

Annabeth shook her head with a smile. "_Completely_ unrelated."

**She'd gotten so much money for it, she'd put a deposit down on a new apartment and made a payment on her first semester's tuition at NYU. **

Athena smiled warmly. It was good that Sally would be able to get back to what she loved to do.

**The Soho gallery was clamoring for more of her work, which they called "a huge step forward in super-ugly neorealism."**

Nico seemed deep in thought. "That's a funny word."

"What?"

"Neorealism. It's a funny word... I like it."

"Nico?"

"Yeah, Thals?"

"That was completely random and unecessary."

"What's your point?"

_**But don't worry, **_**my mom wrote. **_**I'm done with sculpture. I've disposed of that box of tools you left me. It's time for me to turn to writing.**_

The Olympians nodded approvingly.

**At the bottom, she wrote a P.S.: **_**Percy, I've found a good private school here in the city. I've put a deposit down to hold you a spot, in case you want to enroll for seventh grade. You could live at home. But if you want to go year-round at Half-Blood Hill, I'll understand.**_

**I folded the note carefully and set it on my bedside table. Every night before I went to sleep, I read it again, and I tried to decide how to answer her.**

**On the Fourth of July, the whole camp gathered at the beach for a fireworks display by cabin nine. Being Hephaestus' kids, they weren't going to settle for a few lame red-white-and-blue explosions. **

"Of course not." Leo and Hephaestus said. They grinned at each other.

**They'd anchored a barge offshore and loaded it with rockets the size of Patriot missiles. According to Annabeth, who'd seen the show before, the blasts would be sequenced so tightly they'd look like frames of animation across the sky. The finale was supposed to be a couple of hundred-foot-tall Spartan warriors **

Ares smiled fondly. _Ah, Sparta..._

**who would crackle to life above the ocean, fight a battle, then explode into a million colors.**

...

"That's so cool!"

"I want to see that!"

"I hope we live long enough to see that!"

...

"Wow Connor," Thalia said. "Way to kill the mood."

"Your welcome?"

**As Annabeth and I were spreading a picnic blanket,**

Athena sighed. In her mind, she knew that there was nothing she could do to stop the relationship that was forming. Besides, if she did try, who knew what Annabeth would do? Zeus didn't know and she wouldn't have a guess until she saw how Annabeth and Percy interacted with each other. If she ever saw that anyways.

**Grover showed up to tell us good-bye. He was dressed in his usual jeans and T-shirt and sneakers, but in the last few weeks he'd started to look older, almost high-school age. His goatee had gotten thicker. He'd put on weight. His horns had grown at least an inch, so he now had to wear his rasta cap all the time to pass as human.**

Dionysus nodded approvingly. "That's how a satyr should look."

**"I'm off," he said. "I just came to say ... well, you know."**

**I tried to feel happy for him. After all, it wasn't every day a satyr got permission to go look for the great god Pan. But it was hard saying good-bye. I'd only known Grover a year, yet he was my oldest friend.**

"Too loyal..."

**Annabeth gave him a hug. She told him to keep his fake feet on.**

**I asked him where he was going to search first.**

Dionysus tsked. "That's a secret."

**"Kind of a secret," he said, looking embarrassed. **

Dionysus smiled proudly. Then he frowned. "Why would Grover look embarassed?"

No answer.

**"I wish you could come with me, guys, but humans and Pan …"**

**"We understand," Annabeth said. "You got enough tin cans for the trip?"**

**"Yeah."**

**"And you remembered your reed pipes?"**

**"Jeez, Annabeth," he grumbled. "You're like an old mama goat."**

Some of the counselors snickered.

**But he didn't really sound annoyed.**

**He gripped his walking stick and slung a backpack over his shoulder. He looked like any hitchhiker you might see on an American highway—**

"On a highway?"

**nothing like the little runty boy I used to defend from bullies at Yancy Academy. **

**"Well," he said, "wish me luck."**

**He gave Annabeth another hug. He clapped me on the shoulder, then headed back through the dunes.**

Jason shook his head. "Nothing like the satyrs back at camp."

Everyone turned to him. "Do you remember everything?" Piper asked hesitantly.

Jason shook his head. "Not everything. Just a few details but not the whole picture."

**Fireworks exploded to life overhead: Hercules killing the Nemean lion, **

Thalia shivered.

**Artemis chasing the boar, George Washington (who, by the way, was a son of Athena)**

"Who doesn't know that?" Connor shook his head.

"Actually," Leo said. "I didn't know that."

"Neither did I." said Piper.

"Or me." Jason agreed.

Chris, Travis, and Katie joined in.

Connor frowned. "Well... It was just a statement."

**crossing the Delaware.**

**"Hey, Grover," I called.**

**He turned at the edge of the woods.**

**"Wherever you're going—I hope they make good enchiladas."**

**Grover grinned, and then he was gone, the trees closing around him.**

**"We'll see him again," Annabeth said.**

**I tried to believe it. The fact that no searcher had ever come back in two thousand years ... well, I decided not to think about that. Grover would be the first. He had to be.**

"Coincidence much?"

Dionysus stood up abruptly and stared at the group on the floor. "You mean-then Grover found-so Pan's..."

Nico, Annabeth, and Rachel shared a cautious look."Why don't we keep reading." Rachel suggested. Although, all of the gods looked stunned. Hermes the most.

**July passed.**

Athena narrowed her eyes. _What about the prophecy?_ Then she remembered the name of the chapter.

**I spent my days devising new strategies for capture-the-flag and making alliances with the other cabins to keep the banner out of Ares's hands.**

Demeter looked at the group on the floor. "Doesn't that ever get boring?"

"Surprisingly," Piper answered. "It doesn't."

**I got to the top of the climbing wall for the first time without getting scorched by lava.**

Leo's eyes bugged out. "That is a big achievement. Even I can't do that. Then again I wouldn't really get scorched..."

Travis frowned. "No good memories there. None at all." He and Connor shivered.

Everyone else decided not to ask, though Hermes probably knew since he was grinning like a cheshire cat.

Clarisse leaned over to Katie. "I hope you know, your boyfriend's weird."

"I know."

**From time to time, I'd walk past the Big House, glance up at the attic windows, and think about the Oracle. I tried to convince myself that its prophecy had come to completion.**

Jason frowned. "But it hasn't."

_**You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.**_

**Been there, done that—even though the traitor god had turned out to be Ares rather than Hades. **

Hades held his head up proudly.

_**You shall find what was stolen, and see it safe returned.**_

**Check. One master bolt delivered. **

Zeus smiled fondly and rubbed his master bolt on his cheek.

**One helm of darkness back on Hades's oily head.**

Hades frowned momentarily but then started checking his reflection in his helm. He remembered the great childhood memories he'd had in Kronos' stomach with it.

* * *

><p><strong>The rest of the chapter. Three more left.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong><em>You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.<em>**

**This line still bothered me. Ares had pretended to be my friend, then betrayed me. That must be what the Oracle meant...**

"No."

**_And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end._**

**I _had _failed to save my mom, but only because I'd let her save herself, and I knew that was the right thing.**

**So why was I still uneasy? **

"You should be."

**The last night of the summer session came all too quickly.**

**The campers had one last meal together. We burned part of our dinner for the gods. At the bonfire, the senior counselors awarded the end-of-summer beads.**

Annabeth touched her necklace along with the others. She had nine beads already. If she survived this summer-_when_ she survived, she'd get another one. She rubbed the fifth necklace that she had especially, a green trident etched in a black background.

**I got my own leather necklace, and when I saw the bead for my first summer, I was glad the firelight covered my blushing. **

"It didn't."

**The design was pitch black, with a sea-green trident shimmering in the center.**

Jason, Leo, and Piper glanced at the beads on the counselors necklaces. The black bead seemed to shimmer brilliantly out of all of them.

Piper looked closely at the bead. It was _actually_ shimmering. "Um," Piper stated. "Is that bead supposed to shimmer?"

All of the counselors observed their necklaces. "What are you talking about Piper?" Thalia knit her eyebrows. She was looking at Annabeth's bead since she didn't have one.

"The bead with the trident." Now everyone was looking at their beads.

"Mines doesn't shimmer." Travis said. The others agreed, except Annabeth.

"Actually, my bead _is_ shimmering." Annabeth said.

Everyone looked closely at her bead and found the object radiating light.

"Huh," Clarisse wondered. "It's actually shimmering."

"Is it doing anything else?" Athena asked.

"No."

Thalia looked at it again. The light dimmed and stopped shimmering. "Well it's not shimmering anymore."

"Any idea why it did that?" Leo asked. Everyone shook their head.

Nico piped up. "Maybe it was angry because all Annabeth would do is wear it. I mean, it wanted to use its drawing of a trident to impale someone but Annabeth wouldn't so it started an angry tirade by glowing in a somehow menacing way. It was hoping that its fellow beads would join in and start a revolution but they were on vacation so it was left on its own."

Hades nodded throughout the whole thing, taking in every word of it while everyone else just shook their heads at Nico.

**"The choice was unanimous," Luke announced. "This bead commemorates the first Son of the Sea God at this camp, and the quest he undertook into the darkest part of the Underworld to stop a war!"**

"Fake." Connor muttered angrily.

**The entire camp got to their feet and cheered. Even Ares' cabin felt obliged to stand. **

Ares huffed. Stupid son of barnacle beard…

**Athena's cabin steered Annabeth to the front so she could share in the applause.**

Athena smiled warmly at Annabeth.

**I'm not sure I'd ever felt as happy or sad as I did at that moment. I'd finally found a family, people who cared about me and thought I'd done something right. And in the morning, most of them would be leaving for the year.**

Leo frowned. He could relate to how Percy felt. One minute, he could've been with a bunch of other orphans who cared for him and treated him right and the next he was running away because he knew he couldn't stay.

**The next morning, I found a form letter on my bedside table.**

**I knew Dionysus must've filled it out, because he stubbornly insisted on getting my name wrong:**

**_Dear__****Peter Johnson,**

Everyone sighed exasperatedly while Dionysus nodded approvingly.

**_If you intend to stay at Camp Half-Blood year-round, you must inform the Big House by noon today. If you do not announce your intentions, we will assume you have vacated your cabin or died a horrible death. Cleaning harpies will begin work at sundown. They will be authorized to eat any unregistered campers. All personal articles left behind will be incinerated in the lava pit._**

**_Have a nice day!_**

"Oh sure." Leo said. "If you don't clean out your cabin by night or tell us you'll stay the harpies will eat you but-oh, hey! Have a nice day!"

"Now you're getting it Levan."

"My name's not Levan!"

**_Mr. D (Dionysus)_**

**_Camp Director, Olympian Council #12_**

**That's another thing about ADHD. Deadlines just aren't real to me until I'm staring one in the face.**

Leo frowned. "Tell me about it." His hands had almost fallen off, trying to build that ship. And even then, there was the problem with the engine and Gaea holding them down a couple times.

**Summer was over, and I still hadn't answered my mother, or the camp, about whether I'd be staying. Now I had only a few hours to decide.**

Annabeth cocked her head. Now that she thought about it, Janus, the god of doorways and choices, probably appeared invisibly when Percy was choosing whether to stay or go with his mom.

**The decision should have been easy. I mean, nine months of hero training or nine months of sitting in a classroom—duh.**

"Exactly." The Stolls and Leo chorused.

**But there was my mom to consider. For the first time, I had the chance to live with her for a whole year, without Gabe. **

Smiles bloomed on faces all around the room.

**I had a chance to be at home and knock around the city in my free time. I remembered what Annabeth had said so long ago on our quest: _The real world is where the monsters are. That's where you learn whether you're any good or not._**

Annabeth smiled. _He actually listens to me._

**I thought about the fate of Thalia, daughter of Zeus. **

Thalia sighed and rolled her eyes. "Why does he keep on mentioning me?"

**I wondered how many monsters would attack me if I left Half-Blood Hill. If I stayed in one place for a whole school year, without Chiron or my friends around to help me, would my mother and I even survive until the next summer?**

"Probably."

**That was assuming the spelling tests and five-paragraph essays didn't kill me. **

"They will. They jump up out of nowhere, ball up, and lodge themselves in your throat so they can suffocate you. It's a miracle if you're still alive after that." Nico stated.

"What goes on in your head Nico?"

"I don't know Thals. I don't know."

**I decided I'd go down to the arena and do some sword practice. Maybe that would clear my head.**

**The campgrounds were mostly deserted, shimmering in the August heat. All the campers were in their cabins packing up, or running around with brooms and mops, getting ready for final inspection. Argus was helping some of the Aphrodite kids haul their Gucci suitcases and makeup kits over the hill, **

Chris sucked in his breath. "That's going to take a long time. I remember we had to help out that one summer when their cabin was _really_ overcrowded. My entire body was sore the entire month after that."

Connor and Travis grimaced. They remembered that especially. Subconsciously, all three rubbed their shoulders.

Clarisse smiled a little. "Wasn't that the summer with the centaur in the prom dress."

A smiled erupted on their faces. "That was epic."

**where the camp's shuttle bus would be waiting to take them to the airport.**

**Don't think about leaving yet, I told myself. Just train.**

**I got to the sword-fighters arena and found that Luke had had the same idea. **

"_Of course, _he did."

**His gym bag was plopped at the edge of the stage. He was working solo, whaling on battle dummies with a sword I'd never seen before. It must've been a regular steel blade, because he was slashing the dummies' heads right off, stabbing through their straw-stuffed guts. His orange counselor's shirt was dripping with sweat. His expression was so intense, his life might've really been in danger.**

"I wish." Travis muttered.

**I watched, fascinated, as he disemboweled the whole row of dummies, hacking off limbs and basically reducing them to a pile of straw and armor.**

Thalia narrowed her eyes. "That's not right."

**They were only dummies, but I still couldn't help being awed by Luke's skill. The guy was an incredible fighter. It made me wonder, again, how he possibly could've failed at his quest.**

A deafening silence settled over the older counselors.

**Finally, he saw me, and stopped mid-swing. "Percy."**

**"Um, sorry," I said, embarrassed. "I just—"**

**"It's okay," he said, lowering his sword. "Just doing some last-minute practice."**

**"Those dummies won't be bothering anybody any more."**

**Luke shrugged. "We build new ones every summer."**

**Now that his sword wasn't swirling around, I could see something odd about it. The blade was two different types of metal—one edge bronze, the other steel.**

Hephaestus face was a mixture between a grimace and anger. "What's that boy doing with a sword like that?"

His roar made everyone jump three feet in the air. Then they jumped again when Poseidon and Aphrodite appeared in midair and fell to the floor.

"Ow!" Poseidon groaned. Aphrodite moaned and sat up on the floor. Somehow, her hair and makeup was still perfect but her clothes were torn, dirty, and wet.

A gasp emitted from the gods. When did Aphrodite ever look so, so- Poseidon sat up too. His hair was out of place and half of his mustache looked like it was torn off. His clothes were dirty and torn but they weren't wet like Aphrodite's.

"What," Zeus started. "What happened to you two?"

Poseidon grinned wickedly, a grin that almost matched Hades' completely. "Long story short, Gabe won't be out of the hospital for a month and he's stopped smoking," There were several grins at this. "the police almost caught us and we couldn't flash out because there were video cameras everywhere so we went to the ocean and jumped in to escape-that's why Aphrodite's wet-"

Aphrodite glared at Poseidon. Poseidon swallowed hard and continued. "But on the bright side, we're on Good Morning America and they got our good sides."

They both flashed an attractive grin. Ares scoffed, "You have bad sides?"

A tub of makeup and starfish mixed together were thrown at him. Aphrodite and Poseidon got up and limped out of the room. When they came back they looked showered and refreshed. Poseidon had even somehow grown the ripped part of his mustache out.

"Wait," Athena stopped Artemis from reading. "What about Percy and Sally? Did they see any of this?"

"Nah," Poseidon said. "I convinced Sally to take Percy out for the night. Gabe was coincidentally-"

He grinned at Aphrodite mischeviously.

"-alone in an ally when we 'bumped' into him."

"As for where Percy and Sally went-"

Aphrodite snapped her fingers. A giant Iris-message shimmered into view. The picture cleared to show a woman with brown hair and eyes that changed multiple colors carrying a sleeping toddler. They seemed to be walking through a museum. They passed one of the museum shops and the light from the shop shined on the boy. He woke up and in the light, his dark hair and green eyes were clearly visible.

He peered at the museum shop in amazement. There were so many different colors and posters that he didn't notice his stomach rumbling until it happened the third time.

"Mommy, I'm hungry." Percy said.

"Why don't we wait until we get home and I'll feed you Percy?" Sally replied.

"No mommy," Percy pouted sleepily. "I want to eat now."

Sally stared into her son's eyes and sighed. She was about to decline his plead and probably walk out of the museum with a screaming and wailing toddler but then she remembered the museum shop and the extra money she had left over from Poseidon-which was more than she would probably ever make in her life-and walked into the museum shop.

Percy was becoming restless in her arms so she put him down and let him explore. Immediately, he bumped into a racket full of white packets. The store manager looked up and frowned at the toddler.

Sally smiled embarrassingly and said, "Sorry!" She started picking up the packets but Percy started crying.

"What's wrong Percy? What happened?"

"I-it h-hurts mommy! R-really bad." Percy started crying. Sally looked over to see the store manager frown and reach for the emergency phone on his desk.

"Percy, sweetie, can you stop crying? You're going to get us in trouble." Sally coaxed.

Percy merely shook his head and the tears continued streaming down his face. Sally swallowed nervously. There was a police officer standing next to the manager, watching her. How was she going to get him to stop crying?

A packet fell and hit her on the head. Percy stopped long enough to giggle a little. She rolled her eyes and picked up the packet. Space food?

"What about this sweetie?" She asked. "Would you like Space food?"

That shut Percy up immediately. He rigorously bobbed his head up and down. Sally sighed, "While I'm paying I want you to pick this stuff up and put it back on the shelves okay?"

She pointed towards the spilled packets on the floor and walked away. Percy bent down to pick up a packet but as he looked up, he noticed the Iris-message.

"Woah…" He stared at the Iris-message in awe. Aphrodite's eyes bugged out. "Oops! Gotta go!" She snapped her fingers and the message disappeared.

…

"Let's continue reading Artemis."

**Luke noticed me looking at it. "Oh, this? New toy. This is Backbiter."**

**"Backbiter?"**

**Luke turned the blade in the light so it glinted wickedly. "One side is celestial bronze. The other is tempered steel. Works on mortals and immortals both."**

"There is something extremely wrong about this." Apollo said. "Percy should leave Luke alone and go tell Chiron, immediately."

**I thought about what Chiron had told me when I started my quest—that a hero should never harm mortals unless absolutely necessary.**

Everyone nodded.

**"I didn't know they could make weapons like that."**

**_"They _****probably can't," Luke agreed. "It's one of a kind."**

Poseidon realized what was happening. His eyebrows bugged out and he gripped his chair until his knuckles started turning white.

**He gave me a tiny smile, then slid the sword into its scabbard. "Listen, I was going to come looking for you. What do you say we go down to the woods one last time, look for something to fight?"**

"No."

**I don't know why I hesitated.**

"I do."

**I should've felt relieved that Luke was being so friendly. Ever since I'd gotten back from the quest, he'd been acting a little distant. I was afraid he might resent me for all the attention I'd gotten.**

Thalia shook her head. _Percy, Percy. ___

**"You think it's a good idea?" I asked. "I mean—"**

**"Aw, come on." He rummaged in is gym bag and pulled out a six-pack of Cokes. "Drinks are on me."**

Poseidon sucked in a breath. Now Percy wouldn't be able to resist.

**I stared at the Cokes, wondering where the heck he'd gotten them. There were no regular mortal sodas at the camp store. No way to smuggle them in unless you talked to a satyr, maybe.**

**Of course, the magic dinner goblets would fill with anything you want, but it just didn't taste the same as a real Coke, straight out of the can.**

**Sugar and caffeine. My willpower crumbled.**

"No." Poseidon moaned.

** "Sure," I decided. "Why not?"**

**We walked down to the woods and kicked around for some kind of monster to fight, but it was too hot. All the monsters with any sense must've been taking siestas in their nice cool caves.**

**We found a shady spot by the creek where I'd broken Clarisse's spear during my first capture the flag game. **

Clarisse and Ares frowned.

**We sat on a big rock, drank our Cokes, and watched the sunlight in the woods.**

**After a while Luke said, "You miss being on a quest?"**

"I know I miss it." Connor said. Travis nodded.

Clarisse scrutinized the two. "When did you two ever go on a quest?"

"After we played the golden mango prank-" Connor started.

Hermes grinned and ignored the look Aphrodite gave him. "I remember that. That prank was epic!"

"The Aphrodite cabin chased us ten miles into the woods, trying to kill us." Travis continued.

Connor nodded. "You don't know how many monsters we had to kill before they caught up with us and put that spell on us."

The both shivered while the counselors who had seen the prank laughed. "The only reason the Athena cabin won the next capture the flag game that next week was because some of us were too busy being clowns or having trouble moving in their clothes." Connor said.

More laughter.

"And because we wiped out half of the monsters on that side of the woods that day." Travis finished.

Still more laughter.

**"With monsters attacking me every three feet? Are you kidding?"**

**Luke raised an eyebrow.**

**"Yeah, I miss it," I admitted. **

Annabeth smiled sadly. She missed it too.

**"You?"**

"Wrong question."

**A shadow passed over his face.**

**I was used to hearing from the girls how good-looking Luke was, **

The older counselors huffed and crossed their arms over their chest.

**but at the moment, he looked weary, and angry, and not at all handsome. His blond hair was gray in the sunlight. The scar on his face looked deeper than usual. I could imagine him as an old man.**

Thalia frowned. Any one could imagine him as an old man in the state that he was in.

**"I've lived at Half-Blood Hill year-round since I was fourteen," he told me. "Ever since Thalia ... well, you know. **

Thalia frowned and looked at her feet. She could feel the eyes peering at her but she didn't want to look up. After a while, a very worried Artemis, kept reading.

**I trained, and trained, and trained. I never got to be a normal teenager, out there in the real world. Then they threw me one quest, and when I came back, it was like, 'Okay, ride's over. Have a nice life.'"**

**He crumpled his Coke can and threw into the creek, **

The older counselors gasped. "It's too bad he wasn't there long enough so the river naiads and nymphs could get even with him." Chris muttered. The demigods agreed.

**which really shocked me. One of the first things you learn at Camp Half-Blood is: Don't litter. You'll hear from the nymphs and the naiads. They'll get even. You'll crawl into bed one night and find your sheets filled with centipedes and mud.**

Some of the demigods shivered.

**"The heck with laurel wreaths," Luke said. "I'm not going to end up like those dusty trophies in the Big House attic."**

**"You make it sound like you're leaving."**

The air became tense.

**Luke gave me a twisted smile. "Oh, I'm leaving, all right, Percy. I brought you down here to say good-bye."**

Annabeth grimaced. She didn't want to hear this.

**He snapped his fingers. A small fire burned a hole in the ground at my feet. Out crawled something glistening black, about the size of my hand. A scorpion.**

"No." Thalia muttered. She recognized the scorpion from a previous encounter with it when she was with the hunters. She wondered how Percy survived.

**I started to go for my pen.**

**"I wouldn't," Luke cautioned. "Pit scorpions can jump up to fifteen feet. Its stinger can pierce right through your clothes. You'll be dead in sixty seconds."**

**"Luke, what—"**

**Then it hit me.**

**_You will be betrayed by one who calls you a friend._**

Hermes sunk in his chair while everyone who hadn't figured it out already gaped at the book.

Poseidon grimaced. This was the last chapter. Would this be the chapter that he hears the last waking thoughts leading up to his son's death?

**"You," I said.**

**He stood calmly and brushed off his jeans.**

**The scorpion paid him no attention. It kept its beady black eyes on me, clamping its pincers as it crawled onto my shoe.**

**"I saw a lot out there in the world, Percy," Luke said. "Didn't you feel it—the darkness gathering, the monsters growing stronger? Didn't you realize how useless it all is? All the heroics—being pawns of the gods. They should've been overthrown thousands of years ago, but they've hung on, thanks to us half-bloods."**

Zeus frowned.

**I couldn't believe this was happening.**

**"Luke ... you're talking about our parents," I said.**

**He laughed. "That's supposed to make me love them? Their precious 'Western civilization' is a disease, Percy. It's killing the world. The only way to stop it is to burn it to the ground, start over with something more honest."**

The gods gaped at the book.

**"You're as crazy as Ares."**

Aphrodite nodded rigorously much to Ares' dismay.

**His eyes flared. "Ares is a fool. He never realized the true master he was serving. If I had time, Percy, I could explain. But I'm afraid you won't live that long."**

Poseidon clamped his trident until his knuckles became white.

**The scorpion crawled onto my pants leg.**

**There had to be a way out of this. I needed time to think.**

**"Kronos," I said. "That's who you serve."**

**The air got colder.**

As it did in the throne room.

**"You should be careful with names," Luke warned.**

**"Kronos got you to steal the master bolt and the helm. He spoke to you in your dreams."**

**Luke's eye twitched. "He spoke to you, too, Percy. You should've listened."**

"No."

**"He's brainwashing you, Luke."**

**"You're wrong. He showed me that my talents are being wasted. You know what my quest was two years ago, Percy? My father, Hermes, wanted me to steal a golden apple from the Garden of the Hesperides and return it to Olympus. After all the training I'd done, _that _was the best he could think up."**

**"That's not an easy quest," I said. "Hercules did it."**

Jason nodded. "That's extremely hard."

Thalia shivered. "It's even worse, trying to get past the actual dragon."

**"Exactly," Luke said. "Where's the glory in repeating what others have done? **

"In your heart?"

"Shut up Apollo!"

"Jeez…"

**All the gods know how to do is replay their past. My heart wasn't in it. The dragon in the garden gave me this"—he pointed angrily at his scar—"and when I came back, all I got was pity. I wanted to pull Olympus down stone by stone right then, but I bided my time. I began to dream of Kronos. He convinced me to steal something worthwhile, something no hero had ever had the courage to take. **

Zeus and Hades stiffened.

**When we went on that winter-solstice field trip, while the other campers were asleep, I snuck into the throne room and took Zeus's master bolt right from his chair. Hades' helm of darkness, too. **

Everyone could feel the anger emanating from the two gods.

"Yes," Demeter said. "Go on and steal the ultimate weapon that's actually a teddy bear and the helm of darkness that in real life, all it holds is twisted childhood memories that occurred in the belly of our deranged father."

She ignored the scowls being sent to her and focused on the stifled laughter coming from all around the room.

**You wouldn't believe how easy it was. The Olympians are so arrogant; they never dreamed someone would dare steal from them. Their security is horrible. I was halfway across New Jersey before I heard the storms rumbling, and I knew they'd discovered my theft."**

The gods squirmed in their seats.

**The scorpion was sitting on my knee now, staring at me with its glittering eyes. I tried to keep my voice level. "So why didn't you bring the items to Kronos?"**

**Luke's smile wavered. "I ... I got overconfident. Zeus sent out his sons and daughters to find the stolen bolt— Artemis, Apollo, my father, Hermes. But it was Ares who caught me. **

Ares smiled triumphantly.

**I could have beaten him, but I wasn't careful enough. He disarmed me, took the items of power, threatened to return them to Olympus and burn me alive. Then Kronos' voice came to me and told me what to say. I put the idea in Ares' head about a great war between the gods. I said all he had to do was hide the items away for a while and watch the others fight.**

Everyone rolled their eyes. Of course that would persuade Ares.

**Ares got a wicked gleam in his eyes. I knew he was hooked. He let me go, and I returned to Olympus before anyone noticed my absence." Luke drew his new sword. He ran his thumb down the flat of the blade, as if he were hypnotized by its beauty. **

Nico scoffed. "And you all call me crazy."

**"Afterward, the Lord of the Titans ... h-he punished me with nightmares. I swore not to fail again. Back at Camp Half-Blood, in my dreams, I was told that a second hero would arrive, one who could be tricked into taking the bolt and the helm the rest of the way—from Ares down to Tartarus."**

**"_You _summoned the hellhound, that night in the forest."**

**"We had to make Chiron think the camp wasn't safe for you, so he would start you on your quest. We had to confirm his fears that Hades was after you. And it worked."**

Thalia frowned angrily. "We had to do this, we had to do that. Can't he think for himself? He's not one with Kronos! He's a servant."

**"The flying shoes were cursed," I said. "They were supposed to drag me and the backpack into Tartarus."**

Annabeth and Poseidon stiffened.

**"And they would have, if you'd been wearing them. But you gave them to the satyr, which wasn't part of the plan. Grover messes up everything he touches. He even confused the curse."**

Despite the situation, some people actually smiled.

**Luke looked down at the scorpion, which was now sitting on my thigh. "You should have died in Tartarus, Percy. But don't worry, I'll leave you with my little friend to set things right."**

**"Thalia gave her life to save you," I said, gritting my teeth. "And this is how you repay her?"**

**"Don't speak of Thalia!" he shouted. "The gods _let _her die! That's one of the many things they will pay for."**

Thalia ignored the worried looks sent her way and waited for Artemis to keep reading.

**"You're being used, Luke. You and Ares both. Don't listen to Kronos."**

**_"I've _****been used?" Luke's voice turned shrill. "Look at yourself. What has your dad ever done for you? Kronos will rise. You've only delayed his plans. He will cast the Olympians into Tartarus and drive humanity back to their caves. All except the strongest—the ones who serve him."**

"Someone's insane." Nico muttered.

**"Call off the bug," I said. "If you're so strong, fight me yourself."**

"That won't work." Hermes said.

**Luke smiled. "Nice try, Percy. But I'm not Ares. You can't bait me. **

"Around other people you can." Annabeth said.

**My lord is waiting, and he's got plenty of quests for me to undertake."**

**"Luke—"**

**"Good-bye, Percy. There is a new Golden Age coming. You won't be part of it."**

"Oh," Zeus said angrily. "We won't be part of it, because it isn't coming."

**He slashed his sword in an arc and disappeared in a ripple of darkness.**

**The scorpion lunged.**

**I swatted it away with my hand and uncapped my sword. The thing jumped at me and I cut it in half in midair. **

Poseidon didn't sigh in relief yet. He was ninety-seven percent sure the scorpion got Percy.

**I was about to congratulate myself until I looked down at my hand. My palm had a huge red welt, oozing and smoking with yellow guck. The thing had gotten me after all.**

**My ears pounded. My vision went foggy. The water, I thought. It healed me before.**

"That won't work this time."

**I stumbled to the creek and submerged my hand, but nothing seemed to happen. The poison was too strong. My vision was getting dark. I could barely stand up.**

**_Sixty seconds, _****Luke had told me.**

**I had to get back to camp. If I collapsed out here, my body would be dinner for a monster. Nobody would ever know what had happened.**

A heavy silence settled over the occupants in the room.

**My legs felt like lead. My forehead was burning. I stumbled toward the camp, and the nymphs stirred from their trees.**

**"Help," I croaked. "Please ..."**

**Two of them took my arms, pulling me along. I remember making it to the clearing, a counselor shouting for help, a centaur blowing a conch horn.**

**Then everything went black.**

**I woke with a drinking straw in my mouth. I was sipping something that tasted like liquid chocolate-chip cookies. Nectar.**

Poseidon sucked in a breath of relief.

**I opened my eyes.**

**I was propped up in bed in the sickroom of the Big House, my right hand bandaged like a club. Argus stood guard in the corner. Annabeth sat next to me, holding my nectar glass and dabbing a washcloth on my forehead.**

Jason smiled. "Here you are again."

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

**"Here we are again," I said.**

"Oh no." Travis said. "It's spreading to Jason too."

He brought out a napkin and pretended to wipe his tears away. "It's okay buddy. You'll make it. Percy won't take over your mind."

Jason just shook his head at Travis and turned back to the book.

**"You idiot," Annabeth said, which is how I knew she was overjoyed to see me conscious.**

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

**"You were green and turning gray when we found you. If it weren't for Chiron's healing ..."**

**"Now, now," Chiron's voice said. "Percy's constitution deserves some of the credit."**

**He was sitting near the foot of my bed in human form, which was why I hadn't noticed him yet. His lower half was magically compacted into the wheelchair, his upper half dressed in a coat and tie. He smiled, but his face looked weary and pale, the way it did when he'd been up all night grading Latin papers.**

**"How are you feeling?" he asked.**

**"Like my insides have been frozen, then microwaved."**

Leo winced. "Ouch."

Thalia nodded. "I felt that before."

Annabeth looked alarmed. "You've been bitten by a pit scorpion before? When?"

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Not a pit scorpion. I got hit by a snowball before-"

Ares scoffed. "A snowball doesn't make your insides feel like they've been frozen, then microwaved. They just sting your skin."

Thalia glared at Ares. "I wasn't done talking. I was going to say that I got hit by a snowball from a Hyperborean giant before. Do you know how big they are? Some of them are taller than Zeus in full form and their snowballs hurt like Hades."

"Oh."

Annabeth knit her eyebrows. "When'd you do that?"

"With the hunters."

Nico and Leo pouted. "I wanna do that."

Thalia looked at them incredulously. "I think Nico is rubbing off on you Leo. You should run off to the hills with Jason and Piper until you guys recover."

Demeter nodded approvingly. "Exactly what I was thinking. And you should take Apollo with you also."

Everyone glanced at Apollo to find him beaming at his lyre.

"Oh, beautiful lyre,

Your sound so sweet to my ears,

May you curse Midas?"

Thalia leaned over to Annabeth after stomaching that horrible poem. "Does he mean Midas the King with the donkey's ears?"

"I think so. I'm not sure, Apollo's crazy."

**"Apt, considering that was pit scorpion venom. Now you must tell me, if you can, exactly what happened."**

**Between sips of nectar, I told them the story.**

**The room was quiet for a long time.**

**"I can't believe that Luke ..." **

"I can."

**Annabeth's voice faltered. Her expression turned angry and sad. "Yes. Yes, I _can _believe it. May the gods curse him... He was never the same after his quest."**

**"This must be reported to Olympus," Chiron murmured. "I will go at once."**

**"Luke is out there right now," I said. "I have to go after him."**

**Chiron shook his head. "No, Percy. The gods—"**

**"Won't even _talk _about Kronos," I snapped. "Zeus declared the matter closed!"**

Zeus stiffened.

**"Percy, I know this is hard. But you must not rush out for vengeance. You aren't ready."**

**I didn't like it, but part of me suspected Chiron was right.**

"When is he never right-" Connor started.

"Shut up!"

"Jeez, what'd I do wrong?"

"You'll make Nico come up with another crazy explanation again." Katie said.

"Oh." Connor looked over to Nico who was admiring the skull ring on his finger.

**One look at my hand, and I knew I wasn't going to be sword fighting any time soon. "Chiron ... your prophecy from the Oracle ... it was about Kronos, wasn't it? Was I in it? And Annabeth?"**

"Yes."

"What?" Poseidon and Athena yelped. "What do you mean?"

Apollo sighed. "Don't try asking. They won't tell you anything."

**Chiron glanced nervously at the ceiling. "Percy, it isn't my place—"**

**"You've been ordered not to talk to me about it, haven't you?"**

**His eyes were sympathetic, but sad. "You will be a great hero, child. I will do my best to prepare you. But if I'm right about the path ahead of you …"**

**Thunder boomed overhead, rattling the windows.**

**"All right!" Chiron shouted. "Fine!"**

**He sighed in frustration. "The gods have their reasons, Percy. Knowing too much of your future is never a good thing."**

**"We can't just sit back and do nothing," I said.**

**"_We _will not sit back," Chiron promised. "But _you _must be careful. Kronos wants you to come unraveled. He wants your life disrupted, your thoughts clouded with fear and anger. **

"Wow," Demeter said. "I think I know where Hades gets his insanity from." She ignored the glare being sent to her.

**Do not give him what he wants. Train patiently. Your time will come."**

**"Assuming I live that long."**

Poseidon frowned. "I would not have him die before his time."

**Chiron put his hand on my ankle. "You'll have to trust me, Percy. You will live. But first you must decide your path for the coming year. I cannot tell you the right choice..." I got the feeling that he had a very definite opinion, and it was taking all his willpower not to advise me.**

"Probably."

**"But you must decide whether to stay at Camp Half-Blood year-round, or return to the mortal world for seventh grade and be a summer camper. Think on that. When I get back from Olympus, you must tell me your decision."**

**I wanted to protest. I wanted to ask him more questions. But his expression told me there could be no more discussion; he had said as much as he could.**

"I hate that."

**"I'll be back as soon as I can," Chiron promised. "Argus will watch over you."**

Piper smiled. She liked Argus, even if he was a little weird with his eyes.

**He glanced at Annabeth. "Oh, and, my dear ... whenever you're ready, they're here."**

**"Who's here?" I asked.**

**Nobody answered.**

Athena's eyes lit in realization. She beamed at her daughter, who blushed and smiled back.

**Chiron rolled himself out of the room. I heard the wheels of his chair clunk carefully down the front steps, two at a time.**

**Annabeth studied the ice in my drink.**

**"What's wrong?" I asked her.**

**"Nothing." She set the glass on the table. "I … just took your advice about something. You … um … need anything?"**

**"Yeah. Help me up. I want to go outside."**

Apollo tsked. "That's not a good idea. He's not ready yet. Won't be ready for maybe two or three months."

**"Percy, that isn't a good idea."**

Apollo smiled triumphantly.

**I slid my legs out of bed. Annabeth caught me before I could crumple to the floor. A wave of nausea rolled over me.**

**"I'm fine," I insisted. I didn't want to lie in bed like an invalid while Luke was out there planning to destroy the Western world.**

"Does anyone ever want to lie in bed like an invalid while their archenemy is out there planning to destroy the Western world?" Connor asked.

"No."

Leo seemed to consider it. "I guess it would depend on what kind of bed it is."

When everyone gaped at him he said, "What? I have a pretty cool bed back in cabin nine okay? If I was hurt and I was lying in that bed I'd stay there for a while…. Stop staring at me like that!"

**I managed a step forward. Then another, still leaning heavily on Annabeth. Argus followed us outside, but he kept his distance.**

**By the time we reached the porch, my face was beaded with sweat. My stomach had twisted into knots. But I had managed to make it all the way to the railing.**

Ares rolled his eyes. "Oh sure, a huge accomplishment."

**It was dusk. The camp looked completely deserted. The cabins were dark and the volleyball pit silent. No canoes cut the surface of the lake. Beyond the woods and the strawberry fields, the Long Island Sound glittered in the last light of the sun.**

Rachel frowned. "Depressing much?"

Apollo looked at her. "I know right?"

**"What are you going to do?" Annabeth asked me.**

**"I don't know."**

**I told her I got the feeling Chiron wanted me to stay year-round, to put in more individual training time, but I wasn't sure that's what I wanted. I admitted I'd feel bad about leaving her alone, though, with only Clarisse for company….**

Clarisse frowned and rolled her eyes.

**Annabeth pursed her lips, then said quietly, "I'm going home for the year, Percy."**

**I stared at her. "You mean, to your dad's?"**

**She pointed toward the crest of Half-Blood Hill. Next to Thalia's pine tree, at the very edge of the camp's magical boundaries, a family stood silhouetted—two little children, a woman, and a tall man with blond hair. They seemed to be waiting. The man was holding a backpack that looked like the one Annabeth had gotten from Waterland in Denver.**

Athena was still smiling brilliantly. Annabeth received smiles from the other counselors.

"Good job Annie!" Connor said. "You didn't let your father rot in Hades. You didn't- HEY! Be careful with that knife!...Okay I'm sorry! I'm sorry! J-just put d-down the knife!"

**"I wrote him a letter when we got back," Annabeth said. "Just like you suggested. I told him ... I was sorry. I'd come home for the school year if he still wanted me. He wrote back immediately. We decided ... we'd give it another try."**

**"That took guts."**

"A lot." Hephaestus said. "I can't even talk to Hera for two seconds without feeling so much hate and anger swell up in me."

Athena frowned. "You're not alone."

Artemis, Apollo, Ares, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, and Athena smiled at each other.

**She pursed her lips. "You won't try anything stupid during the school year, will you? **

"Yes."

Poseidon didn't bother to comment on that response.

**At least … not without sending me an Iris-message?"**

**I managed a smile. "I won't go looking for trouble. I usually don't have to."**

**"When I get back next summer," she said, "we'll hunt down Luke. We'll ask for a quest, but if we don't get approval, we'll sneak off and do it anyway. Agreed?"**

Annabeth knit her eyebrows. "Coincidence much?"

Clarisse nodded. "Major."

At hearing this, Athena and Poseidon paled considerably and shared a look. _How many quests did their children go on? Together?_

**"Sounds like a plan worthy of Athena."**

Athena shook her head and rolled her eyes.

**She held out her hand. I shook it.**

**"Take care, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth told me. "Keep your eyes open."**

**"You too, Wise Girl."**

**I watched her walk** **up the hill and join her family. She gave her father an awkward hug and looked back at the valley one last time. She touched Thalia's pine tree, then allowed herself to be lead over the crest and into the mortal world.**

**For the first time at camp, I felt truly alone. I looked out at Long Island Sound and I remembered my father saying, _The sea does not like to be restrained._**

Poseidon shivered. "Not one bit."

**I made my decision.**

**I wondered, if Poseidon were watching, would he approve of my choice?**

"Yes."

**"I'll be back next summer," I promised him. "I'll survive until then. After all, I am your son." I asked Argus to take me down to cabin three, so I could pack my bags for home.**

Artemis sighed and closed the book. "That's it." Ares smiled. _At least that's one less book to read._

A deafening silence settled over the throne room.

"So," Leo started. "What now?"

Hephaestus sighed. "We still have seven more books to read, maybe more."

Aphrodite smiled and snuggled closer to Hephaestus. "So that means we'll have a lot of time to spend together."

Ares' smile slipped off his face. "You know what? I know _exactly _what we can do now." In a second he was out of his throne and had Hephaestus by the collar. "I got a bone to pick with you repair boy. See, I don't like you taking my girl so I think I'm just going to beat you up and take her back. Make it a fair deal."

Aphrodite stared at Ares surprisingly. Hephaestus' anger was rising. Both of them could hear Poseidon say, "Oh-oh. You've really done it this time Ares."

"Umm," Hermes glanced at Aphrodite's face which was becoming redder by the moment and turned to the demigods on the floor. He began to talk quickly. "You guys should probably get out of here. Don't even come in the throne room tomorrow. Take the day off. Go to the garden and go sledding like Hephaestus suggested. There's a giant hill on the north side of the garden. Whatever you do, don't go there. That's Khione's place. Don't just stare at me! Get out before this fight starts and you're obliterated by the energy emanating from the two gods! Go! I'll videotape it and tell you about it tomorrow. If Aphrodite gets in this fight we're _all_ going to die. Immortal or not."

The demigods scrambled to their feet and ran out of the throne room right after Hephaestus threw the first punch, slamming Ares across the room.

* * *

><p><strong>I'll try to update the next chapter tomorrow.<strong>

**Erudite19**


	27. Friends From the Future

Annabeth woke up to the sound of shuffling feet and cursing. She looked up and could scarcely make out Thalia's outline in the dark. She could see Thalia more clearly when she passed by Rachel's miniature sun bed.

"Thals? What are you doing up?" Annabeth glanced at the clock. "It's one forty-five in the morning."

Thalia grunted. "Hungry. I'm going to the kitchen to get something to eat."

Rachel shifted in her bed and sat up. "You're hungry too?"

"Yeah." Thalia seemed genuinely surprised. "When I was in the hunt we ate when we had food. Sometimes we would only get food in the middle of the night."

"I'm coming too." Rachel said. She didn't go because of her hunger. She went because she had a hunch that she should _really_ be there. She didn't know why exactly but she knew it was important.

Rachel looked at Annabeth. "Are you coming?"

"No." Annabeth said. "I'm fine here."

The two girls nodded and started down the hall. You can imagine how surprised they were when Thalia flipped the kitchen light on and they found Connor, Travis, Chris, Clarisse, Nico, Piper, Leo, Katie, and Jason in the kitchen.

The group stopped talking and eating and looked at the two girls the second they walked in.

Thalia knit her eyebrows. "What are you guys doing here?" She glanced at her watch. "It's one fifty in the morning. Why were you sitting in the dark?"

"We could say the same for you Thalia." Nico replied. "...Except for the sitting in the dark thing. We just didn't want the Olympians coming here and finding us sitting in the kitchen at this time of night and questioning us. Especially if they're not reading the books with us."

Thalia shrugged and flipped the light switch off. "The only reason I came here is because I'm hungry and because I have a really strong feeling that I should be here. I don't know why but I just do."

Nico raised an eyebrow. He gestured to everyone else. "We had the same feeling too. Did you Rachel?"

Rachel nodded. "Extremely strong. Plus, I don't know why but it doesn't feel like it's coming from the Apollo in this time period."

Jason knit his eyebrows. "You mean... it's coming from the Apollo in our time period?"

Rachel bit her lip. "I think so."

"So," Leo stated. "What do we do now?"

They all turned to Rachel. "Wait, I guess. We wait until whatever's supposed to happen, happens."

They sat in total silence for nine minutes (a huge accomplishment considering that most of them have ADHD) before the ADHD acted up. They sat in a circle according to their godly parent and talked.

"Well," Clarisse started. "Is anything supposed to happen? What are we here for? If something doesn't happen in the next five seconds I'm going to bed..."

She faltered because at the very moment a green light appeared in the middle of the circle.

...

"W-what is that?" Leo asked.

"I don't know." Nico said gravely. For some reason he felt like the green light wanted desperately to strangle him.

Thalia cocked her head. The green light was oddly familiar to her, which was absurd because she had never seen it in her entire screwed up life. Still...

She stepped toward the light.

"Wait!" Jason said. He was extremely nervous about the light. What was it? Would it kill him? Why did he feel so weird around it?

When he didn't say anything else Thalia stepped forward and touched the glowing light. She immediately pulled back. Not because it was hot but because it had an air of annoyance to it. Like it was an old friend that used to annoy her... _I wonder._

She thrust her hand into the green light again and it shined brighter. She squinted and removed her hand but the light shined brighter. Finally, everyone had to look away so their eyeballs wouldn't melt.

When the light finally stopped and they looked at the floor, they all gasped at the figure lying on the floor.

Thalia was the first to get over her shock. "Percy?" She said tentatively. Percy groaned and turned his head away from her. He seemed to be in a deep sleep. When he didn't answer her she snapped out of it and called his name again. "Percy! Percy! Get up seaweed brain!"

Piper looked at Thalia and mouthed, _Seaweed Brain?_

Thalia shrugged, _Nickname._

Percy moaned and said, "Four more eternities Thals."

Thalia shared a look with the others. "So then, he remembers everything?"

Percy nodded in his sleep. "Remember everything. Drank Gorgon's blood. Memories started to flood back. Miss wise girl."

Jason face-palmed. Gorgon's blood. Why hadn't he thought about that? Then again he didn't have to fight them.

Travis and Connor finally came to their senses. "Percy buddy!"

"Old pal!"

"Friend of mine's!"

"Compadre!"

"Amigo!"

"Ramone!"

...

"Where'd that come from?"

"I don't know."

"Will you two stop already?" Katie hissed.

Connor frowned at Travis. "Jeez bro. Control your girlfriend." He was smacked in the head in the following seconds after that comment.

"Wait." Nico said. "Who's wise girl?"

"Annabeth."

"Oh."

"Percy?" Thalia bent down and shook Percy. "Percy? Wake up. Don't you want to see Annabeth?"

Percy smiled in his sleep and chuckled. "Annabeth..." Then he frowned. "She'll kill me." He muttered.

"Yup." Clarisse said. "You've been gone for eight months Jackson. You complete missed Annabeth's emo transformation and then you didn't stay when she told you to. You'd better have a good explanation for that part."

Percy nodded in his sleep. "I do."

Clarisse's eye twitched. "Can you open your eyes Prissy? Do you even know who you're talking to?"

"Umm."

Clarisse sighed and got down next to Thalia. "You might want to move out of the way Thalia. Zeus knows what Jackson might do."

Thalia didn't question Clarisse. She moved over but clamped her hand over Percy's mouth. Clarisse nodded and raised her hand in an arc.

Chris' eyes bulged out. "Oh no! Everyone look away!"

They did and they heard a mufled, _very_ girlish shriek emit from behind them. Chris sucked in his breath and looked back at. Percy was sitting on the floor now, rubbing a giant red, mark that was shaped like a hand.

He flashed an irritated look towards Clarisse. "Look Clarisse, I know you hate me and all but-"

Percy's mouth gaped open. "Clarisse?"

He immediately engulfed her in a hug, one that Clarisse wasn't ready for. "Thank Poseidon! Someone I actually know from my old life! For once in my life I'm actually glad to see you!"

Clarisse rolled her eyes and pushed Percy off. She smiled a little because she would never admit it but she actually missed harrasing and torturing him. The new half-bloods just didn't have a sharp tongue like him or all they did was whine when they were being dumped into the toilet. No spunk at all. They make her job too easy.

"Well it's about time you got here Jackson." Clarisse muttered.

"Pinecone Face!" Thalia rolled her eyes as Percy engulfed her in a giant hug. The older counselors beamed at the scene. Leo and Piper stood to the side awkwardly while Jason surveyed Percy.

"Alright Percy, let go! You're going to suffocate me."

Percy beamed at her. "Sorry."

The rest of the older counselors rushed up to him and hugged him or patted him on the bag. He rolled his eyes at Rachel when he saw that she still drew on her pants but he smiled and hugged her. After all of the greetings had been exchanged, Percy looked at the three to the side.

"Hi," Piper stepped up. "I'm Piper Mclean, daughter of Aphrodite." She held out her hand and they shook.

Percy knit his eyebrows. "Mclean? As in, the daughter of Tristan Mclean?"

Piper sighed. "Yes."

"Percy Jackson."

"So I've heard."

Leo stepped up next. "Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus."

They shook also. Jason didn't have to even say anything. "And you must be Jason Grace."

Jason nodded and they shook. "And you're Percy Jackson." They seemed to study each other for a moment before Percy snapped out of his daze.

"Where's Annabeth? Can I talk to her?"

"Woah." Thalia said. "You can't just walk back up to your girlfriend and talk to her."

"Actually, I can."

"That's beside the point Percy. Besides, it's two O'three in the morning. You can talk to Annabeth tomorrow."

"When?" Percy asked desperately.

There was a twinkle in Thalia's eyes. "I have a couple ideas."

Percy frowned. "Why do I not like that look in your eyes?"

Thalia rolled her eyes. "You'll like my idea."

* * *

><p><strong>Will update tomorrow if I can. Review if you feel like it. 'Til next weekend.<strong>

**Erudite19**


	28. Snowball Fights

_Bang!_

_csshhhhk!_

"Wow." Thalia stared at the door to the throne room in awe. Even from thirty yards away, she could still hear the fight.

"How long have they been fighting?"

Nico shrugged. "I don't know. But Aphrodite joined the fight a while ago. Hermes told me before we came out this morning."

They had gone outside and were building forts out of snow to protect theirselves while they had a snow fight when they heard the shatter of glass and pleads of help coming from the room. Who was pleading? They had no idea. It could have been anyone. The sound was tooo muffled and distorted for them to know.

"Forget about it." Travis muttered. All of his attention was focused on the snowball he was making in his hands. After the snowball seemed to be shaped to his liking he looked up and said, "You guys should stop worrying about them. Besides, our parents fight all the time."

"Yeah," Leo said. "But since when does Aphrodite join in the fight?"

"When it involves love or beauty." Annabeth said. Her fort looked like a replica of the Trojan walls. Thalia was going to be her partner for the snowball fight. The object of the game was to have the last fort standing. Each fort had to be at least fifteen feet tall. They would've gone for thirty feet but Thalia had faithfully objected that idea. The fort also had to be at least twenty feet wide.

They had come up with the idea the night before, an hour before they had gone to bed, around ten thirty. Before they had gone to the kitchen and found Percy. So at eight O'clock in the morning, they had managed to wake up-most of them anyways-and come outside to start building their forts. Hermes had supplied all the tools and objects they would need to build the forts. Each fort would also have a couple cannons to launch the giant snowballs they created.

Thalia had to bide her time. Percy was supposed to be Nico's partner for the snowball fight. So far, Nico was managing his fort well. The base had already been built and the sides were put up but he hadn't secured the walls yet or even started the design.

Everyone else was halfway done with the design.

Connor stopped working on his fort. "Um, I have to get some more wood for my fort. I'll be right back."

Everyone else didn't question him, everything was going according to plan until Annabeth asked, "But Hermes has the rest of the wood and he's in the throne room. Are you sure you want to go in there?"

Connor nodded and flashed her a tiny smile. "I'll be fine. I'll go around the palace and duck if anyone unfamiliar is there." He ran around the palace but didn't stop. He kept going until he reached the border to the east part of the woods. He walked around as quietly as he could, which was really hard because _apparently _he was as stealthy as a water buffalo. But then he found them. Barking and wanting to be released but at least Khione hadn't found them and frozen them.

* * *

><p>Suddenly, a whistle rang in the woods. Thalia smiled slightly but when Annabeth turned to her with a questioning look she straightened her face and shrugged. "Probably Khione doing something stupid in the woods."<p>

Annabeth was about to reply when a yelp came from the woods and Connor ran out. "Bun! Bun!"

Travis furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm sorry, did he say Bun?"

"I think so." Piper said.

Connor was carrying a pile of wood in his arms and he was stumbling in the snow. He spit a piece of wood out of his mouth. "Run for your short, meaningless, impulsive, inconsiderate, miserable lives!"

"Meaningless?"

"Inconsiderate?"

"Okay, I understand short, impulsive, and miserable." Annabeth stated.

"Who knew Connor had so much vocabulary?" Thalia muttered.

Travis shrugged. "He only uses it when he's extremely scared."

"Why are we just sitting here and watching him run from whatever? Shouldn't we help?" Piper questioned.

In response, she got a bunch of shrugs. "We'll have to help eventually anyways." Leo said.

"What's he running from anyways?" Katie asked. Of course, she knew but she had to play along as long as Annabeth was around.

Leo pulled out a pair of binoculars from his tool belt and looked behind Connor. There was a pack of huskies running behind Connor, baring their sharp teeth.

He lowered the binoculars and stared at the situation. Connor was right on schedule. When he could hear the huskies barking he snapped out of it and yelled, "Run! Ravenous huskies!" Leo took off into the woods and climbed the nearest pine tree he could find.

Soon enough, everyone else started to run. Jason grabbed Piper and they flew into the tree Leo was in. Katie and Travis dove into a bush and Katie used her powers to hide them in the undergrowth. Clarisse and Chris hid in their fort while Nico shadow traveled to the roof of his fort which was risky because the walls weren't secure yet but he wasn't going to get eatened by a bunch of wolves in a plan designed to get Percy and Annabeth back together.

He remembered what Percy had said to him the night before:

_"I have half a mind to strangle you di Angelo. Why would you just pretend that you didn't know me?"_

_"What?" Almost everyone screamed._

_"Wait a minute." Thalia said. She turned to Nico. "You found Percy?...You knew where the Roman Camp was the entire time, didn't you?"_

_Nico sighed. "If I had interfered with Hera's plan and brought Percy back before he gained the trust of the Romans then there might be some probelms between the two camps. Trust me when I say that I really wanted to bring Percy back but that would have just made it harder for everyone. Besides, you guys were doing well trying to find Percy and he didn't get to the Roman camp until three days before I got kidnapped."_

_"You were kidnapped?"_

_"...Long story."_

He's lucky Percy didn't just strangle him right then and there. Thalia and Annabeth kept running into the woods while Connor reached the forts, dropped his woods and joined Katie and Travis in the undergrowth.

Thalia looked back and saw the wolves gaining on them. "We need to split up!" She yelled to Annabeth. "Go right and I'll go left on the count of three! Meet us back at the fort if you ditch the wolves!"

Annabeth nodded. "One!...Two!...Three!"

The two split up and the wolves split their pack. Annabeth kept running and after awhile it seemed like the wolves had stopped following her. She was about to slow down but then she heard a rustling coming from her left. There was a figure coming out from behind one of the trees.

On instinct, she took out her knife and was about to skewer who she thought might be Khione but the figure ran out at her and grabbed her knife.

He (she assumed it was a he) tsked at her. "Now, now Bethy. Is that anyway to treat your boyfriend?"

Her eyes widened. She stepped back and looked at him. She swallowed nervously and stared at those familiar shiny green orbs. "Percy?"

He smiled warmly. "Hi Annabeth."

He probably should've anticipated the slap that came next and he had-in his sleep-but he figured it wouldn't matter anyways because Annabeth probably figured that he still had the curse of Achilles and he _had_ been gone for eight months. Still, the sting on his cheek that he received was more than he thought he would've gotten.

"You idiot!" She snapped at him, which is how he knew that she was overjoyed to see him. "How could you get yourself kidnapped by the Queen of the Gods for Athena's sake? Of all the gods on Olympus the Queen herself?"

He swallowed nervously and tried to answer but he couldn't on account that she looked-and some of you might doubt this-_extremely_ beautiful when she was mad. Now, if only that anger wasn't directed at him. It turned out that he didn't have to answer her because at the very moment she seemed to realize that he remembered her and that he was her boyfriend.

"So..." She asked hesitantly. "Do you remember everything? Do you remember me?"

Despite the throbbing pain from the slap he'd gotten-which he'd fixed later by putting snow on his cheek-he put his arms around her waist and gave her the sweetest kiss they'd probably ever shared (except for the one by the dining pavilion and the one in the lake).

"How could I ever forget you Annabeth?"

* * *

><p>"They're probably making out." Nico said.<p>

"Or talking." Clarisse piped up. She didn't want to hear about those two making out.

Travis rolled his eyes. "Please Clarisse. You can't keep talking non-stop for an hour and thirty minutes without thinking 'hmm, we should probably get back to our friends'. It's just not possible."

Thalia shook her head. "Trust me, with those two it is."

Leo narrowed his eyes at Thalia. "I don't think I even want to know-"

Out of nowhere, a giant snowball hit him in the face and he went down.

"Yes!" Everyone turned to see Annabeth and Percy at Annabeth's fort laughing at Leo and loading up their cannon with another giant snowball.

Jason's eyes widened. "Every man or hunter for theirselves! Run!"

Thalia rolled her eyes. "You're so annoying." But she ran too and soon there was an all out snowball fight. Jason managed to grab Leo and haul him over their fort. Piper and Katie were teamed up. Connor and Travis. Clarisse and Chris. Rachel, Thalia, and Nico. And Percy and Annabeth.

Somewhere in the heat of the fight, Hermes flashed in and all cannons stopped firing. Hermes whistled and surveyed the carnage from the remaining forts. "What have you guys been up to?"

Leo grinned. "Snowball fights."

Hermes shook his head. "Why do I believe that? Anywho-"

Connor snickered. "Anywho? Seriously dad? Who says that word anymore?"

Travis nodded. "Even I don't know."

Nico snapped his fingers. "Mrs. Dodds!"

"Who?"

"The leader of the kindly ones in the Underworld."

"Oh."

Thalia shivered. "You mean the one in the leather jacket? I hate her. She almost made me rethink leather jackets."

Hermes ignored Connor's statement and continued. "I came here to tell you all that they've finally stopped fighting. However, Ares won't be joining us for a couple days. Zeus has some...other plans for him."

Then Hermes focused on Percy. "And you would be?"

* * *

><p>Somewhere in the Field of Asphodel.<p>

Ares kicked a can. "Stupid repair boy...stupid punishments..."

He looked around the field and shuddered. "Stupid boring field... Never any action."

The dead spirits around him started to shimmer. They wandered close to him. "Ares...Ares..."

"Hey! Stop that! Stay back! Don't touch me! Don't-Ahhhhhh!"

* * *

><p><strong>Happy Halloween! Review if you feel like it.<strong>

**Erudite19**


	29. The Day Gabe Stopped Smoking

**Finally. The last chapter of this story. Warning: This chapter goes into Gabe's disgusting mind.**

* * *

><p>And now... one of the ancient Greek Myths never told before for Poseidon and Aphrodite's sake. I, the wonderful and awesome person I am, have dug up this old myth from my very on backyard (No it's not real.). Pay attention as I shall only tell this story once.<p>

Gabe Ugliano (what kind of name is that anyways?) shivered in the cold December air. He was in an extremely angry mood as he walked out of the bar. How had he lost his poker game? He'd used every cheat in the book. He'd even worn long sleeves and brought fake cards but even that hadn't worked. He brought out a cigarette and lit it. The cool feeling in his lungs was calming as he took another puff.

He didn't want to go home to Sally yet. Especially not that brat of a son she had. That women was only good for two things-money to help pay rent and pleasure. If it weren't for those two things he would've divorced her already.

He didn't notice the man behind him who had been following him for two blocks or the pissed off look he had on his face and his boxing outfit. He did however (with his old decrepit hormones) notice the fair beauty in front of him about twenty yards or so. She seemed to be standing around doing nothing. This just made the man behind him flare with rage and the women scowl.

_Wait until Ares finds out about this. _Poseidon thought. Nevertheless, Aphrodite acted according to plan and put a smile on her face. When Gabe got near her he abruptly stopped and grabbed her by the forearms.

"Hey!" Aphrodite struggled from his grasp half-heartedly as he dragged her into the ally. When they got to the ally Gabe leaned in close to her and said, "Look, my name's Gabe. How old are you?"

"Twenty-five."

"I'm thirty-eight, not much of an age difference. Anyways, how about we go out and afterwards we could go to my place and-"

There was a sickening crack and Gabe's lower lip started bleeding. He stumbled around and got a good look just in time to see the green-eyed man with the boxing glove stare at him in hatred.

"Poseidon!" Aphrodite wined.

"What? His pick-up lines are horrible and you _know _what he was thinking."

Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "That's not what I mean. You didn't do it right." She stared in hatred at Gabe's form slowly starting to regain balance.

"Do what right?"

Aphrodite took one of her heels off and gave Gabe a solid whack on the head sending his figure sprawled out on the ground. He struggled to get up.

"That's how you do it properly."

Poseidon smirked. "And you say I didn't do it right?"

Aphrodite nodded so Poseidon lifted Gabe and punched him right in the stomach. While Gabe fell down he grabbed Poseidon's face and accidently tore off half of the mustache.

"OW! That took three hundred years to grow!"

"Three hundred years..." Aphrodite looked at Poseidon incredulously.

"What? That's the last time I shaved."

Aphrodite surveyed Gabe. She smiled and tsked. "That's still wrong Poseidon." She summoned a plastic baseball bat and was about to hit Gabe when Poseidon pouted and said, "Why a plastic bat?"

"Well he still has to work to take care of Sally and Percy. We can't hurt him that much." Then she grumbled. "No matter how much we want to make him listen to opera music while standing naked in a thorn bush."

She delivered a solid blow to Gabe's back and he laid sprawled on the floor. "Please.." Gabe breathed and grabbed his stomach. "Why are you... doing this to me?"

Poseidon and Aphrodite looked at Gabe with sickened expressions. "Do you know Sally and Percy?" Poseidon asked through gritted teeth. Gabe scowled and regained his breathing. "That's why you're doing this? That brat of Sally's is good for nothing. As for Sally, well if she ever does anything I don't say all I have to do is smack her-"

This time Poseidon and Aphrodite delivered the blow at the same time. Gabe coughed up blood and glared at the two. "You're making me bleed..."

Aphrodite's glare got deeper. What would Drew say at a time like this? "No hon. _We're_ not making you bleed. That's the disgusting cigarette packs you have hidden in your jacket pocket that's doing that."

"You're lying."

"You dare accuse me of something I'm not doing?" Aphrodite demanded furiosly. She snapped her fingers and Poseidon hit Gabe in the arm.

On the other side of the street a passersby witnessed the scene and called nine-one-one. Three minutes later (During which Poseidon and Aphrodite took turns showing each other how to hit Gabe) the police arrived and cornered the three.

"WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED! RELEASE THE HOSTAGE AND WALK TOWARDS US WITH YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR BACKS!" A helicopter hovered over them and filmed the event.

Poseidon cursed. "Blasted mortals."

"Come on." Aphrodite pointed to a ladder that led over the wall at the end of the ally. "I'll cover you." She said. "GO!"

Poseidon hesitated but climbed over. When the police moved closer to stop Poseidon, Aphrodite flashed a seductive look at the cameras and the police blockade and for a moment all of the police guards lowered their guns. Then she kicked Gabe between the legs. While he screamed three octaves higher than his regular voice she climbed the rope over the wall and descended on the other side with Poseidon's help.

"Well that was easy." Poseidon said.

Aphrodite agreed. "We should head back to Olympus and-"

"DROP TO THE GROUND AND SURRENDER!"

Poseidon rolled his eyes. He grabbed Aphrodite's hand and was about to flash out but more news crews arrived and pointed their cameras at them.

Aprodite frowned and tried to think of something to do. Poseidon on the other hand smiled at the cameras and sucked in the lime light. "So this is how demigods feel... I don't know why they complain."

"Poseidon!"

"Oh right!"

Aphrodite sent another seductive look at the cameras and while everyone was in a daze the two ran to the nearest beach. On the way there they were sacked teh cops realized what had happened and started following them. Near the edge of the beach Poseidon transformed into a beach comber and did the same to Aphrodite though she protested and nagged him about the colorful clash of colors. The police sped right by them and when the coast was clear they jumped into the sea and transported back to Olympus.

* * *

><p><em>Two days later at the hospital.<em>

"Sir, I'm afraid if you ever want to breathe without a machine again you have to stop smoking." Gabe's doctor said.

"What do you mean stop smoking?" Gabe moaned. Breathing alone hurt him and he coughed a little.

"Well," The doctor continued. "You've suffered from lung failure for the past two days and smoking after this willl only make it worse. It could possibly even kill you. But... it won't kill me. So..."

Gabe whimpered as the doctor took his last pack of cigarettes from his hands and smoked them in front of him.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so it's not as spectacular as I thought it would be but it's better than my original version... As least Gabe got beat up.<strong>

**Erudite19**


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